American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynochos

American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynochos, Breeding. Photographs taken in the greater La Paz area of Baja California Sur, December 2019. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynochos. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, November 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Background and Identification

The American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, is a member of the Pelecanidae Family of Pelicans, with eight members placed in one genus, and one of eight global species of the Pelecanus Genus. The White Pelican obtains its food by dipping and scooping fish from the shallow waters, and are not plunge divers like the Brown Pelican. They are known for cooperative foraging, in which flocks of swimming birds encircle fish and drive them into shallow waters when they become concentrated and easy prey. They primarily consume various kinds of small fish and limited amounts of crayfish, salamanders, and tadpoles. They reproduce in dense, synchronized nesting clusters or sub-colonies. The hatchings are entirely dependent on their parents for food, warmth, and protection. The survival rates of the young are low,  many juvenile birds are harassed or killed by older nestmates. The American White Pelican is tolerant of humans from a distance, except when breeding. During this period they are very weary and prone to abandon their eggs and young if predators approach. American White Pelicans have lifespans of up to thirty years. They are known in Mexico as Pelícano Northeamericano.

The American White Pelican is very large in stature. They are white with black primaries and outer secondaries with an enormous yellowish-green bill that has a distensible gular pouch, and totipalmate webbed feet. During breeding season their bill and legs become bright orange, their head has white plumes, and they develop a laterally flattened “horn” on the upper mandible. Post breeding these colors fade, the head darkens, and the plumes and horn are lost. Their iris is hazel to bluish-gray, they have orange-yellow bare skin around the eyes and scarlet eyelids, and their legs and feet are pale yellowish-green.

Habitat and Geographical Range

The American White Pelican forages in shallow marshes, rivers, and lake edges. These habitats are abundant in small fish, its preferred source of food. They are usually seen in flocks flying in synchronized formations or within water bodies foraging for food.

The American White Pelican is a wintertime visitor to Mexico. They are found within Baja California, western Mexico within the Pacific Slope, and from the central plateau to the northern Yucatan Peninsula on the Atlantic Slope. They avoid areas where winter temperatures dip below 4°C (39°F).

Common Misidentifications

Although the American White Pelican’s size and coloring make it nearly unmistakable to identify, it is most likely confused with the Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis. This species is most often found in coastal regions. It is smaller in stature, has darker body plumage, and forages by plunge diving instead of scooping fish from the shallows.

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective, the American White Pelican is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed increasing populations. In the early 1960s, the population of White Pelicans was in serious decline within their geographical range. Beginning in the 1990s, their population is increasing each year. In some parts of their range, they are in abundance and considered pests, especially during spring migration. They have drawn attention from many due to their large body size, white and black coloration, graceful flight, highly developed cooperative foraging, and comic proportions of their large bill and pouch. Their long-term survival is threatened by human development within their breeding territories.