California
Pelecanus occidentalis  photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | |
| Type of Animal: | Birds |
|---|---|
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Pelecanidae |
| Federal Status: | Endangered |
| State Status: | |
| Occurrence: | |
| Habitat: | Coastal areas, with nesting occurring on islands. Found occasionally along lakes and river, including the lower Colorado River at the California-Arizona border. |
| Description: | Description: The adult brown pelican is a large (up to eight pounds) dark gray-brown water bird with webbed feet, a pouch underneath its long bill and a wingspan of seven feet. Adults have a white head and neck, a brownish-black breast and belly, and silver-grayish upper parts. Immatures are gray-brown above and on the neck, with white underparts. The brown pelican is found along the coast in California and from North Carolina to Texas, Mexico, the West Indies and many Caribbean Islands, and to Guyana and Venezuela in South America. Its historic range was on the Pacific coast from Canada through Mexico. Breeding was only as far north as central California. It was found on the Lower Colorado River as an annual post-breeding wanderer. The brown pelican feeds primarily in shallow estuarine waters. They seldom venture more than 20 miles out to sea except to take advantage of especially good fishing conditions, and even then it is rare to find one more than 40 miles out. Sand spits and offshore sand bars are used extensively as daily loafing and nocturnal roost areas. The preferred nesting sites are small coastal islands which provide protection from mammal predators, especially raccoons, and sufficient elevation to prevent widescale flooding of nests. All courtship behavior is confined to the nest site. The male carries nesting materials to the females and she builds the nest. Both share in incubation and rearing duties. The brown pelican population declined as a result of reproductive failure caused by pesticides such as DDT in food fishes. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Effort: | |
| References: | Source: Endangered and Threatened Species of the Southeastern United States (The Red Book) FWS Region 4 |
| Other Sites: | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS PDF file, with photos |
| Field Office(s): | Arcata; Bakersfield; Barstow; Redding; Ridgecrest |