Pelicans live and find habitats around coastal beaches and lagoons.
Although their native range includes the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, brown pelicans spend a lot of time on small islands away from populated areas.
Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae.
They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing.
They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans.
Brown pelicans search for fish by flying low over the water.
There are more than half a dozen species of pelicans, but all of them have the famous throat pouch for which the birds are best known.
These large birds use their elastic pouches to catch fish—though different species use it in different ways.
A pelican's typical fish selection primarily depends on its location, but common fish across the world are menhaden, herring, sheepshead, pigfish, minnows, silversides, and mullet.
Pelicans that live on the Pacific coast often rely on anchovies and sardines to make up the bulk of their fish diet.
A group of baby pelicans has no specific name, and you'd rarely see a group of baby pelicans together.
Pelicans nest in their breeding pairs and tend to isolate themselves from the flock whilst rearing chicks that are ready to fledge in around just 12 weeks.
Offshore at night is where the pelicans roost and then during the day they loaf.
Some loafing sites consists of pilings, jetties, sandbars, breakwaters, and islands.
On the Atlantic and Gulf coast, the brown pelicans move to small predator-free islands to breed.
Pelicans are not capable of sustained flapping flight, but can remain in the air for 24 hours, covering hundreds of kilometres.
They are excellent soarers and can use thermals to rise to considerable altitudes.
Flight at 1,000m is common, and heights of 3 000 m have been recorded.