Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is a large white bird with black flight feathers and long, massive bill. Pelicans eat fish and crawfish that they scoop up in their bills in deep marshes, lakes and ponds. They frequent flooded rice fields for resting and are often found in large flocks.
This colonially-nesting species no longer breeds in the Central Valley, but non-breeding or possibly breeding visitors from nesting colonies in northeastern California are common sights during the spring and summer. In winter a larger influx of pelicans visits the Central Valley.
The American White Pelican is on the California Bird Species of Special Concern Priority 3 list primarily due to loss, degradation, and human disturbance of breeding habitat and colonies as well as vulnerability to contaminants and disease (Shuford 2008a).
American White Pelican 1,2,3: Leslie Morris
