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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Pelicans



A pelican is a large water bird with a large throat pouch,have webbed feet with four toes.The pelican, with its large body and elongated bill, looks like it shouldn't be able to get off the ground when in fact it is a strong flier. Pelicans are also excellent swimmers thanks, in part, to their large webbed feet, which help with propulsion and steering

                  
                 
The Dalmatian Pelican is the largest of its kind, with a wingspan of up to 11.5 feet and a weight of up to 33 pounds
                                                                                                  
Dalmatian Pelican

                                              

                                                       
                                         


                                   



                                            
                                     


Australian Pelican


Brown Pelican — the smallest pelican species — prefers to plunge in the water from as high up as 30 feet to capture its prey.The brown pelican is the only pelican to catch its food by plunging from great heights in the air and diving underwater.The brown pelican is the only dark pelican. This is a very large, stocky bird. The bill is long and flat with an extensible pouch. The brown pelican has webbed feet, and its legs are short, which gives this bird a slightly top-heavy look.
While most other birds use the skin of their breast to warm eggs, the brown pelican uses its webbed feet — it actually stands on its eggs to keep them warm.

  Brown Pelican 
                                                    
  Pelican showing an open throat


Great White Pelicans are large birds with mass of 10 kg (22 lbs), 160 cm (63 in) long and with a 280 cm (110 inch) wingspan. It differs from the Dalmatian Pelican, the only larger species of pelican, by its pure white, rather than greyish-white, plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye and pinkish legs. Males are larger than females, and have a long beak that grows in a downwards arc, as opposed to the shorter, straighter beak of the female.
                                                                                        







 The Spot-billed Pelican is a relatively small pelican but still a large bird. It is 125–152 cm (49–60 in) long and a weight of 4.1–6 kg (9-13.2 lbs). It is mainly white, with a grey crest, hindneck and a brownish tail. The feathers on the hind neck are curly and form a greyish nape crest. The pouch is pink to purplish and has large pale spots.         
                                                                                                        









Pelicans Looking for Food 

The diet of a Pelican usually consists of fish, but they also eat amphibians, crustaceans and on some occasions, smaller birds


                                                          


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