Most likely, there is no such person on Earth who would not be familiar with this bird. It is so unusual that even a child recognizes a pelican in pictures. He is the only member of the family of the same name. Despite this, a pelican is common in almost all continents. This bird is very large and has some features - they allow you to distinguish it among others.
Varieties of it have small differences in size, shape and color.
What is unusual for a pelican
This bird differs from others in the form of its beak. It is very long and wide, about five times the length of the head. Such a large and roomy beak does not have a single bird on the planet. A distinctive feature of the pelican is a leathery bag at its base, which holds up to 15 liters of water. With its help, these birds catch fish. They can carry up to 4 kilograms of production in it. In addition, this bag is densely penetrated by capillaries and is used for thermoregulation in the heat.
Despite their slowness and apparent heaviness, pelicans swim very well, fly fast, and can soar. A brown pelican can quickly rush from a height into the water for prey. In order to mitigate the effects of such diving, between the bones of these birds there are many air bags, and on the chest there is a pillow of feathers. But other species cannot dive, however, the layer of air between the feathers helps them to stay well on the water.
Another species of these birds is unusual - the white pelican. It is also sometimes called a rhinoceros bird. After all, in the middle of the beak he has a small growth that resembles a horn. Its feathers are white with black edges, so sometimes it is sometimes called black and white.
Another amazing feature of these birds is that they do not have nostrils, they breathe right through their beak. Pelicans are usually silent and rarely make any sounds. But those that can be heard are more like grunts, growls, or grunts, rather than bird voices. Seeing this unusual creature at least once, you will never forget how a pelican bird looks like.
Description and appearance
This is one of the largest birds, reaching a length of almost two meters. Their wingspan is almost three meters, and their weight can be up to 15 kilograms. What are the signs of a pelican? So:
- a clumsy massive body;
- very large wings, their span reaches more than three meters;
- short legs with a membrane between the toes;
- long curved neck;
- wide and large beak with a leathery bag at the bottom;
- loose plumage and an air gap under the skin that helps them fly and swim.
Lifestyle
Pelican is a waterfowl that lives near lakes, rivers and along the shores of the seas. They love shallow water, quiet backwaters, estuaries and small fish-rich lakes. They do not walk very well, awkwardly waddling, but they fly and swim perfectly. Because of the huge beak and long curved neck in flight, pelicans are easy to mistake for prehistoric animals. They really belong to the most ancient birds that lived on Earth more than 20 million years ago.
Pelicans feed on fish and therefore spend a lot of time on the water, but sleep and nest on land. They live in fairly large colonies, the size of which can reach up to 10 thousand birds. Despite their clumsy and wild appearance, they are quite peaceful. Very rarely, fights occur due to feed or building material for the nest. Pelicans fight with their beaks, pounding each other hard.
Most of them are in the southern regions of the planet, but pelicans live on all continents except Antarctica. Individuals living in the northern regions are migratory birds.
Varieties of pelicans
Eight species belong to this family, and only two of them are found on the territory of Russia. This is a curly and pink pelican. The names of the subspecies are associated with the characteristics of the birds and reflect their color or appearance. There is also a black and white pelican, gray and brown. Some species are listed in the Red Book. They are dying from the poisoning of rivers and seas with chemicals, drainage of swamps, and also because of the catch of birds for the extraction of skins, which are used for sewing clothes.
Six species of pelicans live near freshwater rivers and lakes, and only two prefer the coast - brown and Chilean. But they all sleep only on land, so it is impossible to meet these birds far into the sea.
Almost all pelicans are the same in behavior, differing only in appearance and size. Apart stands one of the species that live in America. The brown pelican, unlike the others, can dive, entering the water from a height. Often it reaches 20 meters. In order not to damage the neck when hit by water, the bird throws back its head and presses it to its back.
And the rest is prevented by the presence of a large number of air bubbles between the feathers. This is such an unusual pelican bird. Photos of them in flight or during the hunt show how beautiful and amazing they are.
How pelicans fly
This heavy massive bird can take off only with a start, noisily flapping its wings. But in flight, they do not look awkward at all. They measuredly flap their wings, skillfully use the ascending air currents and soar, can also rise high in a spiral. In flight, they can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour. Pelicans keep their neck curved with their head back on their back so that the long beak does not outweigh. When they fly a long distance, the birds line up in a wedge. A flock of these birds in flight is a very beautiful sight. Pelicans sit on the water, braking their paws and splashing noisily about it.
How pelicans hunt
This is a flock of birds, so they also get food in groups. Pelicans hunt in different ways. Very often, a flock of birds walks in shallow water, dropping their beaks into the water and scooping it up with their "net". Caught there and the fish. To hold slippery prey at the end of the beak, they have a hook. Pelicans use it also in order to catch large fish.
Having scooped up water, the pelican raises its head and squeezes it out of its beak, then swallows all the caught fish. If a big fish is caught in the beak, the bird is forced to first toss it so that it turns headlong down in flight. Only in this way can he swallow it. At this time, these hulking birds sometimes steal prey nimble gulls.
To drive the fish in shallow water, pelicans flapping their noisy. Once they become in two lines and drive the fish towards each other. A very interesting way of hunting is the brown pelican. He rises high into the sky and dives with a noise, hitting his chest against the water. On the chest of this bird there is a large pillow of feathers, so it does not harm her, but the fish stalls from a strong crash and floats to the surface, becoming easy prey for birds.
Nesting Pelicans
Most of these birds nest on trees or shrubs, building large nests from twigs and other similar debris. The builder is the female, and the male brings the material. Sometimes several pairs build one large nest, which is a huge pile of twigs, feathers, leaves and droppings. But large pelicans nest on the ground in thickets of grass or reed, and sometimes right on the rocks, using their feathers for construction.
The female lays only 2-3 eggs that are yellowish or bluish in color. She incubates them for a month. Chicks hatch naked and blind. Only after two weeks they dress in fluff, and remain helpless for more than two months. All this time, parents feed the chick with semi-digested fish directly from their beak. It is interesting to observe the feeding process from the side when the baby sticks its head in the wide open beak of an adult bird.
Pelicans living in our country
In the Black Sea, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, in Altai and in Kazakhstan, a pink pelican nests. Its feature is that the feathers have a pinkish color with a black border around the edge. His legs are pink too, and the bag under his beak is yellow. There is also a buffy spot on the chest. On the head of this bird is a high crest of pointed feathers. This makes it look like another species that lives in our country - a curly pelican, which is larger and does not have a pink color. Its feathers are white with a gray tint, its paws are also gray. They called it that because the feathers on his head and neck are slightly twisted and form something like a mane. These pelicans are endangered and protected.
