Birds · Pelecaniformes · Pelecanidae

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Spotted something wrong?

It is the only pelican that plunge-dives to fish, dropping from heights of up to 18 metres.

Weight

2.7 kg – 5.5 kg

Size

1 m – 1.4 m

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Piscivore

Feeds mainly on fish.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanPiscivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Ocean

37countries 14parks7same family

Fun facts

It came close to extinction in the mid-twentieth century when the pesticide DDT thinned its eggshells, and recovered once it was banned.
It feeds on small fish caught by plunge-diving from the air.
It lives on the coasts, bays and estuaries of the American Pacific and Atlantic.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Coasts, bays and estuaries of the American Pacific and Atlantic, from Canada to Peru and Brazil
Birth weight: ~63.5 grams at hatching
Size at birth: Featherless at hatching and completely dependent
Sexual maturity: 2.5-4 years
Gestation / incubation: 28-32 days
Litter / clutch size: 1 to 3 eggs per clutch (most commonly 2-3)

Sources consulted: SeaWorld/Busch Gardens; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Diversity Web; NPS (California Brown Pelican); About Animals; Audubon Field Guide; Animalia.bio; FWC; NHPBS NatureWorks; Texas Parks & Wildlife