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 Costa Rica, in winter. Gmelin based his description on the "rough-billed pelican" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham. Latham had access to three specimens that had been brought to London from New York and the Hudson Bay area of North America. The scientific name means "red-billed pelican", from the Latin term for a pelican, Pelecanus, and erythrorhynchos, derived from the Ancient Greek words (ἐρυθρός) 'red' + (ῥύγχος) 'bill'. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Description

thumb|left|upright|Adult non-breeding in [[Marin County, California|Marin County, California. Note the lack of "horn" and duller bare parts.]]

thumb|left|American white pelicans gathering at [[Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Brown pelicans can also be seen in the center, and at the left and right margins.]]

thumb|left|With wings spread, showing black [[Flight feather|remiges]]

The American white pelican rivals the trumpeter swan, with a similar overall length, as one of the longest birds native to North America. Both very large and plump, it has an overall length of about , courtesy of the huge beak which measures in males and in females. It has a wingspan of about . The species also has the second-largest average wingspan of any North American bird, after the California condor. This large wingspan allows the bird to use soaring flight for migration easily. Body weight can range between , although typically these birds average between . One mean body mass of was reported. Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures and the tarsus measures long. The plumage is almost entirely bright white, except for the black primary and secondary remiges, which are hardly visible except in flight. From early spring until after breeding has finished in mid-late summer, the breast feathers have a yellowish hue. After molting into the eclipse plumage, the upper head often has a grey hue, as blackish feathers grow between the small wispy white crest. In the breeding season, both sexes grow a laterally flattened keratinous "horn" on the upper bill, located about one-third the bill's length behind the tip. This is the only one of the eight species of pelican to have a bill "horn". The horn is shed after the birds mate and lay their eggs. Outside the breeding season, the bare parts become duller in color, with the naked facial skin yellow and the bill, pouch, and feet a dull pink-orange.

Approximately 180,000 American white pelicans, which is 40% of the global population, migrate to Canada each spring to breed, nesting from the coast of British Columbia east to Lake of the Woods and Lake Nipigon in Ontario. Of this large number of pelicans, Manitoba holds half. Although seen in numerous regions of the province, including cities, nesting colonies concentrate in Manitoba's three largest bodies of water, Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis. American white pelicans are a conservation priority in Canada, where efforts are focused on population monitoring and habitat protection. "Large increases have occurred in all Canadian Bird Conservation Regions that host the species and for which there are reasonably reliable results."

thumb|With a [[double-crested cormorant, in Monterey County, California]]

They winter on the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts from central California and Florida south to Costa Rica, and along the Mississippi River at least as far north as St. Paul, Minnesota. In winter quarters, they are rarely found on the open seashore, preferring estuaries, bays, and lakes. They cross deserts and mountains but avoid the open ocean on migration. The fish taken by pelicans can range from the size of minnows to 3.5-pound pickerels. Typical fish prey include Cypriniformes like common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Lahontan tui chub (Gila bicolor obesa), minnows, and shiners. Perciformes like Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus) or yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and jackfish. Birds nesting on saline lakes, where food is scarce, will travel great distances to better feeding grounds.

Reproduction

As noted above, they are colonial breeders, with up to 10,000 pairs per site. The birds arrive on the breeding grounds in March or April; nesting starts between early April and early June. During the breeding season, both males and females develop a pronounced bump on the top of their large beaks. This conspicuous growth is shed by the end of the breeding season.

The nest is a shallow depression scraped in the ground, into which some twigs, sticks, reeds, or similar debris have been gathered. After about one week of courtship and nest-building, the female lays a clutch of usually two or three eggs, sometimes just one, sometimes up to six.

Both parents incubate for about one month. The young leave the nest 3–4 weeks after hatching; at this point, usually only one young per nest has survived. They spend the following month in a creche or "pod", molting into immature plumage and eventually learning to fly. After fledging, the parents care for their offspring for some three more weeks, until the close family bond separates in late summer or early fall, and the birds gather in larger groups on rich feeding grounds in preparation for the migration to the winter quarters. They migrate south by September or October. Full-grown pelicans have few predators. Only red foxes and coyotes are known to prey on nesting adults on rare occasions.

Status and conservation

This species is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It has the California Department of Fish and Game protective status California species of special concern (CSC). On a global scale, however, the species is common enough to qualify as a Species of Least Concern according to the IUCN.

  • American white pelican profile () at The Nature Conservancy
  • American white pelican pictures from 'Field Guide' page on Flickr
  • Stamps (for British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cuba, Turks and Caicos) – with Range Map at bird-stamps.org
  • Photos of the American White Pelican by Klaus Nigge