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The eight living pelican species were traditionally divided into two groups, one containing four ground-nesters with mainly white adult plumage (Australian, Dalmatian, great white, and American white pelicans), and one containing four grey- or brown-plumaged species which nest preferentially either in trees (pink-backed, spot-billed and brown ...
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. With wings spread, showing black remiges. The American white pelican rivals the trumpeter swan, with a similar overall length, as one of the longest birds native to North ...
Reviewing genetic evidence to date, Cracraft and colleagues surmised that pelicans were sister to the shoebill with the hamerkop as the next earlier offshoot. [7] Ericson and colleagues sampled five nuclear genes in a 2006 study spanning the breadth of bird lineages, and came up with pelicans, shoebill and hamerkop in a clade. [8]
This species of pelican has declined greatly throughout its range, more so than the white pelican. It is possible that up to 10,000–20,000 pelicans exist at the species level. [18] During the 20th century, the species' numbers underwent a dramatic decline for reasons that are not entirely understood.
The great white pelican was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Pelecanus onocrotalus. [2] [3] The species is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [4] The specific epithet onocrotalus is Latin meaning "pelican". [5]
The brown pelican is the smallest of the eight extant pelican species, but is often one of the larger seabirds in their range nonetheless. [15] [16] It measures 1 to 1.52 m (3 ft 3 in to 5 ft 0 in) in length and has a wingspan of 2.03 to 2.28 m (6 ft 8 in to 7 ft 6 in). [6]
The Australian pelican is not globally threatened. They are usually fairly common in proper habitats. At the aforementioned temporary inundation of Lake Eyre in March 1990, over 200,000 adult birds were found to be breeding. The species is legally protected and does not seem to be showing any immediate adverse effects from pollution.
The main habitat is in shallow lowland freshwaters. The spot-billed pelican is not migratory but are known to make local movements and are more widely distributed in the non-breeding season. Nesting along with painted storks. This species is a colonial breeder, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds.