Sunday, October 31, 2010

white pelican ~ 10/31/10 ~ Morro Bay


American white pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

I'm still attempting to get a closer picture of the American white pelican; certainly, this is much better than what I've posted previously. They're huge! Maybe it's the bright white that makes them seem so much larger, but their 9 ft. wingspan is only half a foot longer than the brown pelican. Depending on the information source, American white pelicans can weigh as much as 2 times the size as brown pelicans. Seriously, how do those things fly?

2 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

When I see some of their flocks migrating thru this area of Texas (they roost at the bigger lakes) I'm always amazed at their size as well. And when their bills are full of fish, how do they ever get airborn again?! :)

Katie (Nature ID) said...

The whatbird link in the common name above says they can hold 3 gallons of water in their bill. Oh my!