Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus
Also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican 

Family: Pelicans

Habitat: swamps and shallow lakes

An unmistakable bird of wetlands, swamps and shallow lakes, sometimes found along alkaline and brackish water bodies. They are the second largest among the pelican family with wingspans of 7.5 feet to 11.8 feet. Males can weigh as much as 10 kg and females at 7 kg are slightly smaller. The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the fore neck. In the breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face.

The great white pelican is highly sociable and often forms large flocks. It is well adapted for aquatic life. The short strong legs and webbed feet propel it in water and aid a rather awkward takeoff from the water surface. In-flight, it is an elegant soaring bird, with the head held close to and aligned with the body. Its flight consists of a few slow wingbeats followed by a glide. Once aloft, the long-winged pelicans are powerful fliers, however, and often travel in spectacular linear, circular, or V-formation groups.

Feeding Behavior

The great white pelican mainly eats fish. It leaves its roost to feed early in the morning and may fly over 100 km in search of food. It needs from 0.9 to 1.4 kg (2.0 to 3.1 lb) of fish every day feeding on Arabian tooth carp in India.

A group of 6 to 8 great white pelicans gather in a horseshoe formation in water to feed together. They dip their bills in unison, creating a circle of open pouches, ready to trap every fish in the area. Most feeding is cooperative and done in groups, especially in shallow waters where fish schools can be corralled easily, though they may also forage alone as well.

Great white pelicans are not restricted to fish, however, and are often opportunistic foragers. 

EGGS

The female can lay from 1 to 4 eggs in a clutch, with two being the average. Incubation takes 29 to 36 days. 

Young Ones

The chicks are naked when they hatch but quickly sprout blackish-brown down. The young are cared for by both parents. The colony gathers in "pods" around 20 to 25 days after the eggs hatch. The young fledge at 65 to 75 days of age. Around 64% of young successful reach adulthood, attaining sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age. 1 brood per year.

Diet

Almost entirely fish. But sometimes feed on other bird chicks and smaller birds during starvation periods.

Migration

Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to 1,372 m (4,501 ft). A large population of them visit Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary every year.


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