Brown Pelican

Scientific name: Pelecanus occidentalis

The Brown Pelican is familiar to coastal residents of the western and southern U.S. for its spectacular plunge-diving foraging technique in which it flies over the ocean looking for fish and suddenly plunges head-first into the water to capture its prey. Webbed toes make Brown Pelicans good swimmers, though they do not swim underwater.

Very social birds, Brown Pelican nest in colonies numbering up to 10,000 birds. For several decades, colonies were much smaller because the population had been much reduced by pesticide use. A ban on certain pesticides has allowed the population to recover dramatically.

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