Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of large
water bird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...
s that make up the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Pelecanidae
The Pelecanidae is a family of pelecaniformes, pelecaniform birds within the Pelecani that contains two genera: the extinct ''Eopelecanus'' and the extant ''Pelecanus''. The family was monotypy, monotypic until the description of ''Eopelecanus'' ...
. They are characterized by a long
beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...
and a large
throat pouch
Gular skin (throat skin), in ornithology, is an area of featherless skin on birds that joins the lower mandible of the beak (or ''bill'') to the bird's neck. Other vertebrate taxa may have a comparable anatomical structure that is referred to as ...
used for catching
prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the
brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
and
Peruvian pelican
The Peruvian pelican (''Pelecanus thagus'') is a member of the pelican family. It lives on the west coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from about 33.5° in central Chile to Piura in northern Peru, and occurring as a visitor in ...
s. The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all pelicans become brightly coloured before the breeding season. The eight living pelican species have a patchy global distribution, ranging
latitudinally from the
tropics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
to the
temperate zone
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
, though they are absent from interior South America and from
polar region
The polar regions, also called the frigid geographical zone, zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole, North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high l ...
s and the open ocean.
Long thought to be related to
frigatebird
Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...
s,
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s,
tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds. They are the sole living representatives of the order Phaethontiformes. For many years they were considered part of the Pelecaniformes, but genetics indicates they are most cl ...
s, and
gannets and boobies, pelicans instead are now known to be most closely related to the
shoebill
The shoebill (''Balaeniceps rex'') also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork or shoe-billed stork, is a very large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form ...
and
hamerkop
The hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genus ''Scopus'' and the family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but is now placed with the Pe ...
, and are placed in the order
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...
.
Ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
es,
spoonbill
Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
s,
heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s, and
bittern
Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" ...
s have been classified in the same order. Fossil evidence of pelicans dates back at least 36 million years to the remains of a
tibiotarsus
The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.
A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These sm ...
recovered from late
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
strata of Egypt that bears striking similarity to modern species of pelican.
They are thought to have evolved in the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
and spread into the Americas; this is reflected in the relationships within the genus as the eight species divide into Old World and
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
lineages.
[ This hypothesis is supported by fossil evidence from the oldest pelican taxa.]
Pelicans frequent inland and coastal waters, where they feed principally on fish, catching them at or near the water surface. They are gregarious
Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies.
Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother wasp ...
birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively, and breeding colonially. Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees.[ The relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. The birds have been persecuted because of their perceived competition with commercial and recreational fishing.][ Their populations have fallen through ]habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, disturbance, and environmental pollution, and three species are of conservation concern. They also have a long history of cultural significance in mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
, and in Christian and heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
Etymology
The name comes from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
word ''pelekan'' (πελεκάν), which is itself derived from the word ''pelekys'' (πέλεκυς) meaning "axe". In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker.
The genus ''Pelecanus'' was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. He described the distinguishing characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face, and fully webbed feet. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids, as well as pelicans.
Taxonomy
The family Pelecanidae was introduced (as Pelicanea) by the French polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
in 1815.
Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
which has a varied taxonomic history. Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds. They are the sole living representatives of the order Phaethontiformes. For many years they were considered part of the Pelecaniformes, but genetics indicates they are most cl ...
s, darter
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...
s, cormorants, gannets, boobies, and frigatebirds, all traditional members of the order, have since been reclassified: tropicbirds into their own order, Phaethontiformes
The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic. Several fossil genera have been described.
The tropicbirds were tradit ...
, and the remainder into the Suliformes. In their place, herons, ibises, spoonbills, the hamerkop, and the shoebill have now been transferred into the Pelecaniformes.[ Molecular evidence suggests that the shoebill and the hamerkop form a ]sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
to the pelicans, though some doubt exists as to the exact relationships among the three lineages.
The oldest known record of Pelicans is a right tibiotarsus
The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.
A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These sm ...
very similar to those of modern species from the Birket Qarun Formation
Birket is a small town in Lolland Municipality, Denmark. It had a population of 214 residents in 2014. It is located 8 km east of Horslunde, 17 km northeast of Nakskov, 10 km northwest of Stokkemarke and 21 km northwest of Maribo.
Birket Church ...
in the Wadi El Hitan
( ar, وادي الحيتان, lit=Valley of the Whales ) is a paleontological site in the Faiyum Governorate of Egypt, some south-west of Cairo. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005 for its hundreds of fossils of some ...
in Egypt, dating to the late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(Priabonian
The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...
), referred to the genus ''Eopelecanus
''Eopelecanus'' is an extinct genus of pelican from the Birket Qarun Formation in the Wadi El Hitan in Egypt, dating to the late Eocene ( Priabonian). The holotype, a right tibiotarsus discovered in 2008, represents the oldest record of pelicans ...
.''
Living species
The eight living pelican species were traditionally divided into two groups, one containing four ground-nesters with mainly white adult plumage (Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
, Dalmatian, great white
Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...
, and American white pelican
The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winte ...
s), and one containing four grey- or brown-plumaged species which nest preferentially either in trees ( pink-backed, spot-billed and brown pelican
The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...
s), or on sea rocks (Peruvian pelican
The Peruvian pelican (''Pelecanus thagus'') is a member of the pelican family. It lives on the west coast of South America, breeding in loose colonies from about 33.5° in central Chile to Piura in northern Peru, and occurring as a visitor in ...
). The largely marine brown and Peruvian pelicans, formerly considered conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...
,[ are sometimes separated from the others by placement in the ]subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
'' Leptopelecanus'' but in fact species with both sorts of appearance and nesting behavior are found in either.
DNA sequencing of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes yielded quite different relationships; the three New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
pelicans formed one lineage, with the American white pelican sister to the two brown pelicans, and the five Old World species the other. The Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed were all closely related to one another, while the Australian white pelican was their next-closest relative. The great white pelican also belonged to this lineage, but was the first to diverge from the common ancestor of the other four species. This finding suggests that pelicans evolved in the Old World and spread into the Americas, and that preference for tree- or ground-nesting is more related to size than genetics.
Fossil record
The fossil record shows that the pelican lineage has existed for at least 36 million years; the oldest known pelican fossil was assigned to '' Eopelecanus aegyptiacus'' and was found in late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(middle to late part of the early Priabonian
The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...
stage/age) deposits of the Birket Qarun Formation within the Wadi Al-Hitan World Heritage Site in Egypt. A more complete fossil pelican of early Oligocene
The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chatti ...
age is known from deposits at the Luberon
The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from wes ...
in southeastern France, and is remarkably similar to modern forms. Its beak is almost complete and is morphologically identical to that of present-day pelicans, showing that this advanced feeding apparatus was already in existence at the time.[ An ]Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.
The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was prece ...
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
has been named '' Miopelecanus gracilis'' on the basis of certain features originally considered unique, but later thought to lie within the range of interspecific variation in ''Pelecanus''.[ The ]Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...
''Protopelicanus
''Protopelicanus cuvierii'' is a putative fossil waterbird of uncertain affinities. It was briefly described and figured by Georges Cuvier in 1822 from Late Eocene material from Montmartre, France, though not formally described and named until ...
'' may be a pelecaniform
The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such n ...
or suliform – or a similar aquatic bird such as a pseudotooth (Pelagornithidae
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating ...
), but is not generally considered a pelecanid. The supposed Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
pelican ''Liptornis
''Liptornis'' is a genus of fossil birds of uncertain affinities. The type species is ''L. hesternus''.[Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...]
is a ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
'' (of doubtful validity), being based on fragments providing insufficient evidence to support a valid description.
Fossil finds from North America have been meagre compared with Europe, which has a richer fossil record. Several ''Pelecanus'' species have been described from fossil material, including:
* ''Pelecanus cadimurka
''Pelecanus cadimurka'' is a fossil pelican from the Late Pliocene Kanunka fauna of the upper Tirari Formation, in the Lake Eyre basin of north-eastern South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern c ...
'', Rich & van Tets, 1981 (Late Pliocene, South Australia)
* '' Pelecanus cautleyi'', Davies, 1880 (Early Pliocene, Siwalik Hills, India)[
* '' Pelecanus fraasi'', ]Lydekker
Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history.
Biography
Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...
, 1891 (Middle Miocene, Bavaria, Germany)[
* '']Pelecanus gracilis
''Miopelecanus'' is a fossil genus of pelicans, with the species ''M. gracilis'', dating from the Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burd ...
'', Milne-Edwards, 1863 (Early Miocene, France) (see: ''Miopelecanus
''Miopelecanus'' is a fossil genus of pelicans, with the species ''M. gracilis'', dating from the Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burd ...
'')[
* '']Pelecanus halieus
''Pelecanus halieus'' is a small fossil pelican described by Alexander Wetmore from material found in Late Pliocene deposits at Hagerman, Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the nor ...
'', Wetmore, 1933 (Late Pliocene, Idaho, US)
* ''Pelecanus intermedius'', Fraas, 1870 (Middle Miocene, Bavaria, Germany)[ (transferred to ''Miopelecanus'' by Cheneval in 1984)
* '']Pelecanus odessanus
''Pelecanus odessanus'' is a large species of fossil pelican, described in 1886 from Late Miocene fossil material since lost, from Novaja Slobodka, near Odesa in the Ukraine. With a tarsometatarsus length of , it was about the same size as ''Pel ...
'', Widhalm, 1886 (Late Miocene, near Odessa, Ukraine)
* ''Pelecanus schreiberi
''Pelecanus schreiberi'' is a fossil pelican described by Storrs Olson from Early Pliocene (5.3 to 3.6 million year old) deposits in the Yorktown Formation of North Carolina. It was a large species with distinctive features suggesting that it re ...
'', Olson, 1999 (Early Pliocene, North Carolina, US)[
* '' Pelecanus sivalensis'', Davies, 1880 (Early Pliocene, Siwalik Hills, India)][
* '']Pelecanus tirarensis
''Pelecanus tirarensis'' is a fossil pelican described from several fragmentary tarsometatarsi from Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene deposits in the Namba Formation of Lake Pinpa in the Lake Eyre Basin of north-eastern South Australia
Sou ...
'', Miller, 1966 (Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene, South Australia)
Description
Pelicans are very large birds with very long bills characterised by a downcurved hook at the end of the upper mandible, and the attachment of a huge gular
Gular is of or pertaining to the throat, and may more specifically refer to:
* Gular scales in reptiles
* Gular scute, or gular projection, in turtles and tortoises
* Gular fold in lizards
* Gular skin, or gular sac, in birds and some gibbons
Ot ...
pouch to the lower. The slender rami of the lower bill and the flexible tongue muscles form the pouch into a basket for catching fish, and sometimes rainwater,[ though to not hinder the swallowing of large fish, the tongue itself is tiny. They have a long neck and short stout legs with large, fully webbed feet. Although they are among the heaviest of flying birds, they are relatively light for their apparent bulk because of air pockets in the skeleton and beneath the skin, enabling them to float high in the water.][ The tail is short and square. The wings are long and broad, suitably shaped for soaring and gliding flight, and have the unusually large number of 30 to 35 secondary ]flight feather
Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...
s.
Males are generally larger than females and have longer bills.[ The smallest species is the brown pelican, small individuals of which can be no more than and long, with a wingspan of as little as . The largest is believed to be the Dalmatian, at up to and in length, with a maximum wingspan of . The Australian pelican's bill may grow up to long in large males,] the longest of any bird.[
Pelicans have mainly light-coloured plumage, the exceptions being the brown and Peruvian pelicans.][ The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all species become brighter before breeding season commences.][ The throat pouch of the Californian subspecies of the brown pelican turns bright red, and fades to yellow after the eggs are laid, while the throat pouch of the Peruvian pelican turns blue. The American white pelican grows a prominent knob on its bill that is shed once females have laid eggs.] The plumage of immature pelicans is darker than that of adults. Newly hatched chicks are naked and pink, darkening to grey or black after 4 to 14 days, then developing a covering of white or grey down.[
]
Air sacs
Anatomical dissections of two brown pelicans in 1939 showed that pelicans have a network of air sacs
Air sacs are spaces within an organism where there is the constant presence of air. Among modern animals, birds possess the most air sacs (9–11), with their extinct dinosaurian relatives showing a great increase in the pneumatization (presence ...
under their skin situated across the ventral surface including the throat, breast, and undersides of the wings, as well as having air sacs in their bones. The air sacs are connected to the airways of the respiratory system, and the pelican can keep its air sacs inflated by closing its glottis
The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing vowels and voiced consonants.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), va ...
, but how air sacs are inflated is not clear. The air sacs serve to keep the pelican remarkably buoyant in the water and may also cushion the impact of the pelican's body on the water surface when they dive from flight into water to catch fish. Superficial air sacs may also help to round body contours (especially over the abdomen, where surface protuberances may be caused by viscera changing size and position) to enable the overlying feathers to form more effective heat insulation and also to enable feathers to be held in position for good aerodynamics.
Distribution and habitat
Modern pelicans are found on all continents except Antarctica. They primarily inhabit warm regions, although breeding ranges extend to latitudes of 45° South (Australian pelicans in Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
) and 60° North (American white pelicans in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean, oceanic islands (except the Galapagos), and inland South America, as well as from the eastern coast of South America from the mouth of the Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
southwards.[ Subfossil bones have been recovered from as far south as New Zealand's ]South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
, although their scarcity and isolated occurrence suggests that these remains may have merely been vagrants from Australia (much as is the case today).
Behaviour and ecology
Pelicans swim well with their strong legs and their webbed feet. They rub the backs of their heads on their preen gland
The uropygial gland, informally known as the preen gland or the oil gland, is a bilobed sebaceous gland possessed by the majority of birds used to distribute the gland's oil through the plumage by means of preening. It is located dorsally at the ...
s to pick up an oily secretion, which they transfer to their plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
to waterproof it.[ Holding their wings only loosely against their bodies, pelicans float with relatively little of their bodies below the water surface.] They dissipate excess heat by gular flutter – rippling the skin of the throat and pouch with the bill open to promote evaporative cooling
An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning sy ...
.[ They roost and loaf communally on beaches, sandbanks, and in shallow water.][
A fibrous layer deep in the breast muscles can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus, they use ]thermal
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
s for soaring to heights of 3000 m (10,000 ft) or more,[ combined both with gliding and with flapping flight in ]V formation
A V formation is the symmetric V-shaped flight formation of flights of geese, swans, ducks, and other migratory birds, improving their energy efficiency. Usually, large birds fly in this formation since smaller birds create more complex wind cur ...
, to commute distances up to to feeding areas.[ Pelicans also fly low (or "skim") over stretches of water, using a phenomenon known as ground effect to reduce drag and increase ]lift
Lift or LIFT may refer to:
Physical devices
* Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods
** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop
** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
. As the air flows between the wings and the water surface, it is compressed to a higher density and exerts a stronger upward force against the bird above. Hence, substantial energy is saved while flying.
Adult pelicans rely on visual displays and behaviour to communicate, particularly using their wings and bills. Agonistic behaviour
Agonistic behaviour is any social behaviour related to fighting. The term has broader meaning than aggressive behaviour because it includes threats, displays, retreats, placation, and conciliation. The term "agonistic behaviour" was first implemen ...
consists of thrusting and snapping at opponents with their bills, or lifting and waving their wings in a threatening manner. Adult pelicans grunt when at the colony, but are generally silent elsewhere or outside breeding season. Conversely, colonies are noisy, as chicks vocalise extensively.
Breeding and lifespan
Pelicans are gregarious
Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies.
Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother wasp ...
and nest colonially. Pairs are monogamous for a single season, but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area; mates are independent away from the nest. The ground-nesting (white) species have a complex communal courtship involving a group of males chasing a single female in the air, on land, or in the water while pointing, gaping, and thrusting their bills at each other. They can finish the process in a day. The tree-nesting species have a simpler process in which perched males advertise for females.[ The location of the breeding colony is constrained by the availability of an ample supply of fish to eat, although pelicans can use thermals to soar and commute for hundreds of kilometres daily to fetch food.][
The Australian pelican has two reproductive strategies depending on the local degree of environmental predictability. Colonies of tens or hundreds, rarely thousands, of birds breed regularly on small coastal and subcoastal islands where food is seasonally or permanently available. In arid inland Australia, especially in the ]endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
Lake Eyre basin
The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large porti ...
, pelicans breed opportunistically in very large numbers of up to 50,000 pairs, when irregular major floods, which may be many years apart, fill ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
s and provide large amounts of food for several months before drying out again.
In all species, copulation takes place at the nest site; it begins shortly after pairing and continues for 3–10 days before egg-laying. The male brings the nesting material, in ground-nesting species (which may not build a nest) sometimes in the pouch, and in tree-nesting species crosswise in the bill. The female then heaps the material up to form a simple structure.[
The eggs are oval, white, and coarsely textured.][ All species normally lay at least two eggs; the usual clutch size is one to three, rarely up to six.][ Both sexes incubate with the eggs on top of or below the feet; they may display when changing shifts. Incubation takes 30–36 days;][ hatching success for undisturbed pairs can be as high as 95%, but because of sibling competition or ]siblicide
Siblicide (attributed by behavioural ecologist Doug Mock to Barbara M. Braun) is the killing of an infant individual by its close relatives (full or half siblings). It may occur directly between siblings or be mediated by the parents, and is dri ...
, in the wild, usually all but one nestling dies within the first few weeks (later in the pink-backed and spot-billed species). Both parents feed their young. Small chicks are fed by regurgitation; after about a week, they are able to put their heads into their parents' pouches and feed themselves. Sometimes before, but especially after being fed the pelican chick may seem to "throw a tantrum" by loudly vocalizing and dragging itself around in a circle by one wing and leg, striking its head on the ground or anything nearby and the tantrums sometimes end in what looks like a seizure
An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...
that results in the chick falling briefly unconscious; the reason is not clearly known, but a common belief is that it is to draw attention to itself and away from any siblings who are waiting to be fed.[
Parents of ground-nesting species sometimes drag older young around roughly by the head before feeding them. From about 25 days old,][ the young of these species gather in "pods" or " crèches" of up to 100 birds in which parents recognise and feed only their own offspring. By 6–8 weeks they wander around, occasionally swimming, and may practise communal feeding.][ Young of all species ]fledge
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight.
This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...
10–12 weeks after hatching. They may remain with their parents afterwards, but are now seldom or never fed. They are mature at three or four years old.[ Overall breeding success is highly variable.][ Pelicans live for 15 to 25 years in the wild, although one reached an age of 54 years in captivity.][
]
Feeding
The diet of pelicans usually consists of fish, but occasionally amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s, turtles, crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s, insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s, birds, and mammals are also eaten.[Elliott (1992), p. 295-298, 309–311] The size of the preferred prey fish varies depending on pelican species and location. For example, in Africa, the pink-backed pelican generally takes fish ranging in size from fry up to and the great white pelican prefers somewhat larger fish, up to , but in Europe, the latter species has been recorded taking fish up to . In deep water, white pelicans often fish alone. Nearer the shore, several encircle schools of small fish or form a line to drive them into the shallows, beating their wings on the water surface and then scooping up the prey. Although all pelican species may feed in groups or alone, the Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed pelicans are the only ones to prefer solitary feeding. When fishing in groups, all pelican species have been known to work together to catch their prey, and Dalmatian pelicans may even cooperate with great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
s.
Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into the gullet head-first. A gull will sometimes stand on the pelican's head, peck it to distraction, and grab a fish from the open bill. Pelicans in their turn sometimes snatch prey from other waterbirds.[
The brown pelican usually plunge-dives head-first for its prey, from a height as great as , especially for ]anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
and menhaden
Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...
. The only other pelican to feed using a similar technique is the Peruvian pelican, but its dives are typically from a lower height than the brown pelican. The Australian and American white pelicans may feed by low plunge-dives landing feet-first and then scooping up the prey with the beak, but they—as well as the remaining pelican species—primarily feed while swimming on the water. Aquatic prey is most commonly taken at or near the water surface.[ Although principally a fish eater, the Australian pelican is also an eclectic and opportunistic ]scavenger
Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...
and carnivore
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
that forages in landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
sites, as well as taking carrion
Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh.
Overview
Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...
and "anything from insects and small crustaceans to ducks and small dogs".[ Food is not stored in a pelican's throat pouch, contrary to popular folklore.][
Pelicans may also eat birds. In southern Africa, eggs and chicks of the ]Cape cormorant
The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (''Phalacrocorax capensis'') is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa.
It breeds from Namibia south to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of t ...
are an important food source for great white pelicans. Several other bird species have been recorded in the diet of this pelican in South Africa, including Cape gannet
The Cape gannet (''Morus capensis'') is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae.
They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine ...
chicks on Malgas Island
Malgas Island is a small, , uninhabited island lying in the northern part of the entrance to Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It lies about from the mainland in the Benguela upwelling system. It is circular in shape a ...
as well as crowned cormorant
The crowned cormorant (''Microcarbo coronatus'') is a small cormorant that is endemic to the waters of the cold Benguela Current of southern Africa. It is an exclusively coastal species and is not found more than 10 km (6 mi) away fro ...
s, kelp gull
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, par ...
s, greater crested tern
The greater crested tern Retrieved 28 February 2012 (''Thalasseus bergii''), also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World ...
s, and African penguin
The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiff ...
s on Dassen Island
Dassen Island is an uninhabited South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about west of Yzerfontein and north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about long northwest-southeast and wide, with an area of . It i ...
and elsewhere. The Australian pelican, which is particularly willing to take a wide range of prey items, has been recorded feeding on young Australian white ibis
The Australian white ibis (''Threskiornis molucca'') is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and blac ...
, and young and adult grey teal
The grey teal (''Anas gracilis'') is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Australia and New Zealand.
Description
It can be identified due to the presence of a crimson coloured iris in its eyes.Winter, M. (2018). Grey Teal. Wilderness Mag ...
s and silver gull
The silver gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae'') is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus''), which ...
s. Brown pelicans have been reported preying on young common murre
The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...
s in California and the eggs and nestlings of cattle egret
The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard it ...
s and nestling great egret
The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...
s in Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Mexico. Peruvian pelicans in Chile have been recorded feeding on nestlings of imperial shag
The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...
s, juvenile Peruvian diving petrel
The Peruvian diving petrel (''Pelecanoides garnotii'') (local name in Peru: potoyunco) is a small seabird that feeds in offshore waters in the Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile.
Taxonomy
The Peruvian diving petrel was formally described in 18 ...
s, and grey gull
The grey gull, also known as garuma gull (''Leucophaeus modestus'') is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-bree ...
s. Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
of chicks of their own species is known from the Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans.[ Great white pelicans have been observed swallowing ]city pigeon
Feral pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia forma urbana''), also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons,Nagy, Kelsi, and Johnson, Phillip David. ''Trash animals: how we live with natures filthy, feral, invasive, an ...
s in St. James's Park
St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...
in London. Spokeswoman for the Royal Parks, Louise Wood, stated that feeding on other birds is more likely with captive pelicans that live in a semi-urban environment and are in constant close contact with humans.
Status and conservation
Populations
Globally, pelican populations are adversely affected by these main factors: declining supplies of fish through overfishing or water pollution, destruction of habitat, direct effects of human activity such as disturbance at nesting colonies, hunting and culling, entanglement in fishing lines and hooks, and the presence of pollutants such as DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
and endrin
Endrin is an organochloride with the chemical formula C12H8Cl6O that was first produced in 1950 by Shell and Velsicol Chemical Corporation. It was primarily used as an insecticide, as well as a rodenticide and piscicide. It is a colourless, odorle ...
. Most species' populations are more or less stable, although three are classified by the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
as being at risk. All species breed readily in zoos, which is potentially useful for conservation management.
The combined population of brown and Peruvian pelicans is estimated at 650,000 birds, with around 250,000 in the United States and Caribbean, and 400,000 in Peru. The National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
estimates the global population of the brown pelican at 300,000. Numbers of brown pelican plummeted in the 1950s and 1960s, largely as a consequence of environmental DDT pollution, and the species was listed as endangered in the US in 1970. With restrictions on DDT use in the US from 1972, its population has recovered, and it was delisted in 2009.
The Peruvian pelican is listed as near threatened because, although the population is estimated by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
to exceed 500,000 mature individuals, and is possibly increasing, it has been much higher in the past. It declined dramatically during the 1998 El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
event and could experience similar declines in the future. Conservation needs include regular monitoring throughout the range to determine population trends, particularly after El Niño years, restricting human access to important breeding colonies, and assessing interactions with fisheries.
The spot-billed pelican has an estimated population between 13,000 and 18,000 and is considered to be near threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Numbers declined substantially during the 20th century, one crucial factor being the eradication of the important Sittaung valley breeding colony in Burma through deforestation and the loss of feeding sites. The chief threats it faces are from habitat loss and human disturbance, but populations have mostly stabilised following increased protection in India and Cambodia.
The pink-backed pelican has a large population ranging over much of sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
. In the absence of substantial threats or evidence of declines across its range, its conservation status is assessed as being of least concern. Regional threats include the drainage of wetlands and increasing disturbance in southern Africa. The species is susceptible to bioaccumulation
Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost or eliminated ...
of toxins and the destruction of nesting trees by logging.
The American white pelican has increased in numbers,[ with its population estimated at over 157,000 birds in 2005, becoming more numerous east of the continental divide, while declining in the west. However, whether its numbers have been affected by exposure to pesticides is unclear, as it has also lost habitat through wetland drainage and competition with recreational use of lakes and rivers.][
]
Great white pelicans range over a large area of Africa and southern Asia. The overall trend in numbers is uncertain, with a mix of regional populations that are increasing, declining, stable, or unknown, but no evidence has been found of rapid overall decline, and the status of the species is assessed as being of least concern. Threats include the drainage of wetlands, persecution and sport hunting, disturbance at the breeding colonies, and contamination by pesticides and heavy metals.
The Dalmatian pelican has a population estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000 following massive declines in the 19th and 20th centuries. The main ongoing threats include hunting, especially in eastern Asia, disturbance, coastal development, collision with overhead power lines, and the over-exploitation of fish stocks. It is listed as near threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as the population trend is downwards, especially in Mongolia, where it is nearly extinct. However, several European colonies are increasing in size and the largest colony for the species, at the Small Prespa Lake
Small Prespa Lake ( el, Λίμνη Μικρή Πρέσπα, ''Limni Mikri Prespa''; sq, Prespa e Vogël; mk, Мало Преспанско Езеро, ''Malo Prespansko Ezero'') is a lake shared between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 42.5 ...
in Greece, has reached about 1,400 breeding pairs following conservation measures.
Widespread across Australia,[ the Australian pelican has a population generally estimated at between 300,000 and 500,000 individuals. Overall population numbers fluctuate widely and erratically depending on wetland conditions and breeding success across the continent. The species is assessed as being of least concern.
]
Culling and disturbance
Pelicans have been persecuted by humans for their perceived competition for fish, despite the fact that their diet overlaps little with fish caught by people.[ Starting in the 1880s, American white pelicans were clubbed and shot, their eggs and young were deliberately destroyed, and their feeding and nesting sites were degraded by water management schemes and wetland drainage.][ Even in the 21st century, an increase in the population of American white pelicans in southeastern Idaho in the US was seen to threaten the recreational ]cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...
fishery there, leading to official attempts to reduce pelican numbers through systematic harassment and culling
In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...
.
Great white pelicans on Dyer Island, in the Western Cape region of South Africa, were culled during the 19th century because their predation of the eggs and chicks of guano
Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
-producing seabirds was seen to threaten the livelihood of the guano collectors.[ More recently, such predation at South African seabird colonies has impacted on the conservation of threatened seabird populations, especially crowned cormorants, Cape cormorants, and ]bank cormorant
The bank cormorant (''Phalacrocorax neglectus''), also known as Wahlberg's cormorant, is a medium-sized cormorant that is endemic to Namibia and the western seaboard of South Africa, living in and around coastal waters; it is rarely recorded mor ...
s. This has led to suggestions that pelican numbers should be controlled at vulnerable colonies.[
Apart from ]habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and deliberate, targeted persecution, pelicans are vulnerable to disturbance at their breeding colonies by birdwatchers, photographers, and other curious visitors. Human presence alone can cause the birds to accidentally displace or destroy their eggs, leave hatchlings exposed to predators and adverse weather, or even abandon their colonies completely.
Poisoning and pollution
DDT pollution in the environment was a major cause of decline of brown pelican populations in North America in the 1950s and 1960s. It entered the oceanic food web
A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one ...
, contaminating and accumulating in several species, including one of the pelican's primary food fish – the northern anchovy
The Californian anchovy or northern anchovy (''Engraulis mordax'') is a species of anchovy found in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from Mexico to British Columbia.
Relationship with humans Commercial fishing
As sardine populations declined in the Pa ...
. Its metabolite
In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism.
The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, c ...
DDE is a reproductive toxicant
A toxicant is any toxic substance, whether man-made or naturally occurring. By contrast, a toxin is a poison produced naturally by an organism (e.g. plant, animal, insect). The different types of toxicants can be found in the air, soil, water, or ...
in pelicans and many other birds, causing eggshell thinning and weakening, and consequent breeding failure through the eggs being accidentally crushed by brooding birds. Since an effective ban on the use of DDT was implemented in the US in 1972, the eggshells of breeding brown pelicans there have thickened and their populations have largely recovered.
In the late 1960s, following the major decline in brown pelican numbers in Louisiana from DDT poisoning, 500 pelicans were imported from Florida to augment and re-establish the population; over 300 subsequently died in April and May 1975 from poisoning by the pesticide endrin. About 14,000 pelicans, including 7500 American white pelicans, perished from botulism
Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weaknes ...
after eating fish from the Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...
in 1990.[ In 1991, abnormal numbers of brown pelicans and ]Brandt's cormorant
Brandt's cormorant (''Urile penicillatus'') is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population nort ...
s died at Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
, when their food fish (anchovies) were contaminated with neurotoxic
Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...
domoic acid
Domoic acid (DA) is a kainic acid-type neurotoxin that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). It is produced by algae and accumulates in shellfish, sardines, and anchovies. When sea lions, otters, cetaceans, humans, and other predators eat cont ...
, produced by the diatom
A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...
''Pseudo-nitzschia
''Pseudo-nitzschia'' is a marine planktonic diatom genus that accounts for 4.4% of pennate diatoms found worldwide. Some species are capable of producing the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA), which is responsible for the neurological disorder in human ...
''.
As waterbirds that feed on fish, pelicans are highly susceptible to oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
s, both directly by being oiled and by the impact on their food resources. A 2007 report to the California Fish and Game Commission estimated that during the previous 20 years, some 500–1000 brown pelicans had been affected by oil spills in California.[ A 2011 report by the ]Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...
, a year after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...
, said that 932 brown pelicans had been collected after being affected by oiling and estimated that 10 times that number had been harmed as a result of the spill.
Where pelicans interact with fishers, through either sharing the same waters or scavenging for fishing refuse, they are especially vulnerable to being hooked and entangled in both active and discarded fishing lines. Fish hook
A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish mouth (angling) or, more rarely, by impa ...
s are swallowed or catch in the skin of the pouch or webbed feet, and strong monofilament fishing line
Monofilament fishing line (shortened to just mono) is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic material, as opposed to multifilament or braided fishing lines constructed from multiple strands of fibers. Most fishing lines are now nylon ...
can become wound around bill, wings, or legs, resulting in crippling, starvation, and often death. Local rescue organisations have been established in North America and Australia by volunteers to treat and rehabilitate injured pelicans and other wildlife.
Parasites and disease
As with other bird families
This article lists living orders and families of birds. The links below should then lead to family accounts and hence to individual species.
The passerines (perching birds) alone account for well over 5,000 species. In total there are about 10 ...
, pelicans are susceptible to a variety of parasites
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
. Avian malaria
Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera ''Plasmodium'' and '' Hemoproteus'' (phylum Apicomplexa, class Haemosporidia, family Plasmoiidae). The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vector i ...
is carried by the mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
''Culex pipens'', and high densities of these biting insects may force pelican colonies to be abandoned. Leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
es may attach to the vent
Vent or vents may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
*Vent, the cloaca region of an animal
*Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase
Geology
*Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
or sometimes the inside of the pouch. A study of the parasites of the American white pelican found 75 different species, including tapeworms
Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of man ...
, flukes, flies
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
, flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
s, tick
Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...
s, and nematode
The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...
s.
The brown pelican has a similarly extensive range of parasites. The nematodes ''Contracaecum multipapillatum'' and ''C. mexicanum'' and the trematode
Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host ...
''Ribeiroia ondatrae'' have caused illness and mortality in the Puerto Rican population, possibly endangering the pelican on this island.
Many pelican parasites are found in other bird groups, but several lice
Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result o ...
are very host-specific.[ Healthy pelicans can usually cope with their lice, but sick birds may carry hundreds of individuals, which hastens a sick bird's demise. The pouch louse ''Piagetiella peralis'' occurs in the pouch and so it cannot be removed by ]preening
Preening is a found in birds that involves the use of the beak to position feathers, interlock feather that have become separated, clean plumage, and keep ectoparasites in check. Feathers contribute significantly to a bird's insulation, waterp ...
. While this is usually not a serious problem even when present in such numbers that it covers the whole interior of the pouch, sometimes inflammation and bleeding may occur from it and harm the host.
In May 2012, hundreds of Peruvian pelicans were reported to have perished in Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
from a combination of starvation and roundworm
The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broa ...
infestation.
Religion, mythology, and popular culture
The pelican (''henet'' in Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
) was associated in Ancient Egypt with death and the afterlife
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
. It was depicted in art on the walls of tombs, and figured in funerary
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture ...
texts, as a protective symbol against snakes. ''Henet'' was also referred to in the Pyramid Texts
The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranea ...
as the "mother of the king" and thus seen as a goddess. References in nonroyal funerary papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a d ...
show that the pelican was believed to possess the ability to prophesy safe passage in the underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
for someone who had died.
Consumption of pelican, as with other seabirds
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine (ocean), marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ev ...
, is considered not kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
as an unclean animal
In some religions, an unclean animal is an animal whose consumption or handling is taboo. According to these religions, persons who handle such animals may need to ritually purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanliness.
Judaism
In Jud ...
, and thus forbidden in Jewish dietary law
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), from ...
.
An origin myth
An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have stor ...
from the Murri people Murri may refer to:
People
*Augusto Murri (1841-1932), Italian physician
*Romolo Murri (1870-1944), Italian politician and ecclesiastic
*Serafino Murri (b. 1966), Italian film critic, screenwriter, and film director
Culture
*Murri people, Aborigi ...
of Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, cited by Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
, describes how the Australian pelican
The Australian pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It ...
acquired its black and white plumage. The pelican, formerly a black bird, made a canoe during a flood to save drowning people. He fell in love with a woman he thus saved, but her friends and she tricked him and escaped. The pelican consequently prepared to go to war against them by daubing himself with white clay as war paint. However, before he had finished, another pelican, on seeing such a strange piebald creature, killed him with its beak, and all such pelicans have been black and white ever since.
The Moche people of ancient Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted pelicans in their art.
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
was given its name by the Spanish because of the large numbers of brown pelicans nesting present. The word ''alcatraz'' is itself derived from the Arabic ''al-caduos'', a term used for a water-carrying vessel and likened to the pouch of the pelican. The English name albatross is also derived by corruption of the Spanish word.
Christianity
The ''Physiologus
The ''Physiologus'' () is a didactic Christian text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author, in Alexandria; its composition has been traditionally dated to the 2nd century AD by readers who saw parallels with writings of Clement of Alex ...
'', a didactic Christian text from the 3rd or 4th century, claims that pelicans kill their young when they grow and strike their parents in the face, but then the mother laments them for three days, after which she strikes her side and brings them back to life with her blood. This the ''Physiologus'' explains as mirroring the pain inflicted on God by people's idolatry, and the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the cross redeeming the sinful (see the blood and water gushing from the wound in his side).[ This text was widely copied, translated, and sometimes closely paraphrased during the ]Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, for instance by 13th-century authors Guillaume le Clerc
William the Clerk (french: Guillaume le Clerc) (fl. c. 1200 – c. 1240) was an Old French poet known only from the self-attribution at the end of the Arthurian ''Roman de Fergus'', a parody of the romances of Chrétien de Troyes, notably the ...
and Bartholomaeus Anglicus Bartholomaeus Anglicus (before 1203–1272), also known as Bartholomew the Englishman and Berthelet, was an early 13th-century Scholastic of Paris, a member of the Franciscan order. He was the author of the compendium ''De proprietatibus rerum' ...
.[ Likewise, a folktale from India says that a pelican killed her young by rough treatment, but was then so contrite that she resurrected them with her own blood.][ In a newer, also medieval version of the European myth,][ the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing them with blood by wounding her own breast when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican came to symbolise the Passion of Jesus and the ]Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, supplementing the image of the lamb and the flag. A reference to this mythical characteristic is contained for example in the hymn by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...
, "Adoro te devote
"Adoro te devote" is a Eucharistic hymn written by Thomas Aquinas. It is one of the five Eucharistic hymns which were composed and set to music for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV as a Solemnity for the Latin ...
" or "Humbly We Adore Thee", where in the penultimate verse, he describes Christ as the loving divine pelican, one drop of whose blood can save the world.
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
adopted the symbol, portraying herself as the "mother of the Church of England". The Pelican Portrait
The Pelican Portrait is an oil painting of Elizabeth I of England on a wood panel, named for the pelican pendant shown on Elizabeth's breast. It is generally attributed to Nicholas Hilliard, on the basis of a scientific study and similarities to hi ...
of her was painted around 1573, probably by Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard () was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, ...
. A pelican feeding her young is depicted in an oval panel at the bottom of the title page of the first (1611) edition of the King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
.[ Such "a pelican in her piety" appears in the 1686 ]reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
by Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London churches, Petworth House and other ...
in the church of St Mary Abchurch
St Mary Abchurch is a Church of England church off Cannon Street in the City of London. Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is first mentioned in 1198–1199. The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and replace ...
in the City of London. Earlier medieval examples of the motif appear in painted murals, for example that of ''circa'' 1350 in the parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of Belchamp Walter
Belchamp Walter is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located approximately west of Sudbury, Suffolk and is 35 km (22 miles) north-northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. It is near Belchamp St Paul and Belchamp Otte ...
, Essex.
The self-sacrificial aspect of the pelican was reinforced by the widely read medieval bestiaries
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...
. The device of "a pelican in her piety" or "a pelican vulning (from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''vulnerō'', "I wound, I injure, I hurt") herself" was used in religious iconography and heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
.[
]
Origin in nature
The legends of self-wounding and the provision of blood may have arisen because of the impression a pelican sometimes gives that it is stabbing itself with its bill. In reality, it often presses this onto its chest to fully empty the pouch. Another possible derivation is the tendency of the bird to rest with its bill on its breast; the Dalmatian pelican has a blood-red pouch in the early breeding season and this may have contributed to the myth.[
]
Heraldry
Pelicans have featured extensively in heraldry, generally using the Christian symbolism of the pelican as a caring and self-sacrificing parent. Heraldic images featuring a "pelican vulning" refers to a pelican injuring herself, while a "pelican in her piety" refers to a female pelican feeding her young with her own blood. The King of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the n ...
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
adopted the pelican as is own personal sygil while he was Infante
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...
, evoking the christian symbology to equate the sacrifice of his blood to feed the nation. The pelican as a symbol also became sinonimous with the increasing charity efforts of the Santas Casas da Misericórdia during his reign and the reconstruction of the Hospital das Caldas da Rainha and the Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos, which were mainly patronaged by his wife D. Leonor.
The image became linked to the medieval religious feast of Corpus Christi. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge each have colleges named for the religious festival nearest the dates of their establishment,[ and both ]Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
, and Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
, feature pelicans on their coats of arms.
The medical faculties of Charles University in Prague
Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...
also have a pelican as their emblem. The symbol of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), or ''Seirbhís Fuilaistriúcháin na hÉireann'' in Irish, was established in Ireland as the ''Blood Transfusion Service Board'' (''BTSB'') by the ''Blood Transfusion Service Board (Establishment) Orde ...
is a pelican, and for most of its existence the headquarters of the service was located at Pelican House in Dublin, Ireland. The heraldic pelican also ended up as a pub name and image, though sometimes with the image of the ship ''Golden Hind
''Golden Hind'' was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as ''Pelican,'' but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hat ...
''. Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
's famous ship was initially called ''Pelican'', and adorned the British halfpenny coin.
Modern usage
The great white pelican is the national bird of Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. The brown pelican is the national bird of three Caribbean countries—Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...
, Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, and Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the north ...
—and features on their coats of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
. It is also the state bird of the US state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, which is known colloquially as the Pelican State; the bird appears on the state flag
In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division).
Government flag
A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occas ...
and state seal.[ It adorns the seals of ]Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
, Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...
, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...
, Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...
, Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...
, and Southern University
Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...
, and is the mascot of the New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...
NBA team, the Lahti Pelicans
The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurminen ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team, Tulane University, and the University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
. A white pelican logo is used by the Portuguese bank Montepio Geral
Montepio (), formerly Montepio Geral, is a Portuguese mutual savings organization, better known for its banking activity. Banco Montepio was established in 1844 and is headquartered in Lisbon.
The Montepio group is headed by the Montepio Geral ...
, and a pelican is depicted on the reverse
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
of the Albanian 1 lek
Lek or LEK may refer to:
* Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather
* Albanian lek, the currency of Albania
* Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine
* Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...
coin, issued in 1996. The name and image were used for , an imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
of nonfiction books published by Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Packer Collegiate Institute
The Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent college preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Formerly the Brooklyn Female Academy, Packer has been located at 170 Joralemon Street in the historic district of Br ...]
, a pelican feeding her young, has been in use since 1885.
The pelican is the subject of a popular limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
originally composed by Dixon Lanier Merritt
Dixon Lanier Merritt (July 9, 1879–January 9, 1972) was an American poet and humorist. He was a newspaper editor for the ''Tennessean'', Nashville's morning paper, and President of the American Press Humorists Association.
Biography
Born D ...
in 1910 with several variations by other authors. The original version ran:
Notes
References
Cited texts
*
External links
*
*
Pelican videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
{{featured article
Articles containing video clips
Extant Chattian first appearances
National symbols of Barbados
*
Pelecanus
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus