Friday, July 1, 2011
When you talk about pelicans most people envision the white pelican but there is a second type of pelican that is found in North America. The brown pelican is a coastal bird that lives along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the U.S. Brown pelicans can also be found in coastal regions of Mexico, Central America, the Caibbean Islands and north-western South America. The brown pelicans of South America are considered by some to be a seperate species because they are larger and have some streaking on their undeparts, however they act the same as other brown pelicans so at this time they are considered one species.
Brown pelicans also hunt differently then white pelicans. Both birds have a flap of skin on the underside of their bill which extends down forming a pouch; however while the white pelican scoops up water and fish in its pouch while swimming around, the brown pelican flies over the water and when it sees a fish below it goes into a twisting dive, plunging into the water and trapping the fish with in its pouch. I photographed these brown pelicans down in Texas.