Totipalmate Birds (<em>Pelecaniformes</em>)

American White Pelican – Loafing Pelecanus erythrorhynchos November – Texas L=62”......WS=108”......WT=16.4 lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Pelicans are very large water birds with enormous bills and pouches. In North America two pelicans exist - the American White Pelican and the Brown Pelican. Both are large but the American White is almost twice as heavy as the Brown and is one of the heaviest flighted birds (other heavy birds include swans and condors) in the world. American White Pelicans forage alone and in groups in freshwater habitats. They are well known for cooperative foraging where they encircle and trap groups of fish, drive them into shallow areas, and then, in a coordinated fashion, scoop them up with their bills.

American White Pelican – Taking off Pelecanus erythrorhynchos October – Texas L=62”......WS=108”......WT=16.4 lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Pelicans are one of the heaviest flighted birds (other heavy birds include swans and condors) in the world. Even though they have large wings they have a high wing loading (the ratio of body weight to wing area). Accordingly getting enough air speed to generate the lift required to fly is difficult. To aid taking off the birds push with their feet multiple times. In this picture the pelican has pushed once and is on the verge of a second push wit its feet..

American White Pelican – Loafing Pelecanus erythrorhynchos November – Texas L=62”......WS=108”......WT=16.4 lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) American White Pelicans winter along warm southern coasts. They gather at foraging and adjacent loafing sites favorite sites are shallow marshes, rivers, and lake edges). The continental population of White Pelicans was considered threatened until the early 1960s by combinations of changing water levels, human disturbance, and possibly contaminants. The population has since recovered and continues to increase at >3%/year

American White Pelican – Foraging Pelecanus erythrorhynchos November – Texas L=62”......WS=108”......WT=16.4 lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Pelicans sit high on the water as their buoyancy is enhanced by large system of subcutaneous air sacs in the breast area. They are very strong swimmers and forage while swimming; they do not dive for prey as the Brown Pelican does.

Brown Pelican – LandingPelecanus occidentalis October – Texas L=51”......WS=79”......WT=8.2lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Brown Pelicans nearly disappeared in North America from the late 1950’s through the early 1970’s due to the man made pesticide endrin entering the marine food chain. By 1963 the Brown Pelican disappeared completely in Louisiana, the “Pelican State”, and in 1970 it was declared an Endangered Species. In 1972 legislation banning or reducing the use of several pesticides was enacted and the population began to increase. In 1985 the Brown Pelican was removed from the Endangered Species list in the southeastern U.S. and by the late the 1990’s populations returned to pre-pesticide levels. Now the Brown Pelican is considered one of the great success stories in wildlife conservation. Brown Pelicans are found almost exclusively in marine habitats although this particular bird was found about 100 miles inland on a freshwater lake about one month after Hurricane Ike landed. They catch their prey not by swimming and dipping their bill in the water like all other pelicans, but rather by plunging from flight or perches into the water and catching the unsuspecting prey.