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Pelecanus occidentalis
The Brown Pelican is one of the only two pelican species which feeds by diving into the water. Pelicans are very gregarious birds; they live in flocks of both sexes throughout the year. They are exceptionally buoyant due to the internal air sacks beneath their skin and in their bones, and as graceful in the air as they are clumsy on land. In level flight, pelicans fly in groups, with their heads held back on their shoulders, the bills resting on their folded necks. They may fly in a "V", but usually in regular lines or single file, often low over the water's surface. When foraging, pelicans may fly a few feet or a considerable height over a school of fish and dive at high speed into the water, often submerging completely below the surface momentarily as they snap up prey. Upon surfacing they spill the water from the throat pouch before swallowing their catch. Only the Peruvian Pelican shares this active foraging style, while other pelicans forage more inactively by scooping up corralled fish while swimming on the surface of the water. Juvenile brown pelicans have been observed foraging in the surface-swimming matter of other pelicans
Bolsa Chica Wetlands
Welcome Mick.
Same as our turkeys in the breeding season.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/207...
the red color can seem to be unbelievable! But it really is that red in the breeding season!
Thx @Hema Shah. The red pouch certainly is nice looking. The pelicans here are not as pretty.
Thnx Reiko and Livan. Great link.
On the Pacific Coast, Brown Pelican adults have red skin on their throats in the breeding season. On the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Brown Pelicans are slightly smaller and their throat skin is greenish black.
Hema not a hybrid. Just a variation. And not winter winter plumage but as previously mentioned breeding plumage. Climate changes are wacko on birds right now. A birder saw fledgling Chickadees already in the Bay Area and they are only suppose to be getting nest material.
Fun Kynd we also get the White Pelicans. In California they are considered Endangered, yet they don't seem to be.
Being from South FL and never having seen a Brown Pelican with red throat it was nice to have come across this discussion. Enjoyed learning about the "regional difference" in the breeding coloration as stated and illustrated in the first 2 photos of http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown...
Hey Env,no worries. This is a way of interactive learning. We know each other long enough to know that ,thanks for all your feedback,friend.
i have seen these only once in my life time and that is here at Bolsa Chica, I saw them for two days in a row. I am visiting Florida in May . I will have a chance to observe the Florids Pelicans then.
Env,here is a link from Bolsa Chica where i saw this magnificent bird. You can see the lovely red in it.
http://ronreznick.photoshelter.com/galle...
EnvUnlimited, there is no other Pelican that ranges into CA and what colors do not match up?
Jellis, I think Mick was referring to the link you pasted about the brown pelicans with red pouches tending to appear more in the western range of the species. As your link says, in Florida, it is not common for brown pelicans to have red pouches but it is more common in Texas and the Pacific. I don't think Mick was challenging the ID of Brown Pelican in his last comment, but rather explaining his reasoning before.
Not sure what you mean it's not a Brown Pelican. Brown Pelicans can very during breeding season but they are still the same species whether east or west coast of the USA.
From reading the references sited here from all of you guys, my lack of knowledge of the red pouch on brown pelicans is related to where I live. I live on the SE coast of Florida. As my numerous photographs and observations have borne out, as well, there are no red pouched pelicans here. I guess that is why I would think that this could not be a brown pelican. Apparently a "Texas to the Pacific" thing.
The red throat signifies that it is a breeding adult.
If you look on eBird the closest sighting is in El Salvador - http://ebird.org/ebird/map/perpel1?neg=t...
Where are you getting this information that says "According to several sources the Peruvian ranges and intermixes with Browns in Southern California with spottings as north as Southern California, on a regular basis."?
Mick, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a photo of a Brown Pelican with a red throat pouch:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/brown...
My big issue is the red pouch area. I have never seen a Brown pelican with a red pouch at any time, breeding or not. I reference my own personal gallery of pelican shots n this FB album https://www.facebook.com/mickstr/media_s...
Standard pelican range or not I do not concur that this is a Brown Pelican P. occidentalis. According to several sources the Peruvian ranges and intermixes with Browns in Southern California with spottings as north as Southern California, on a regular basis.
White pelicans are primarily freshwater species and stay to inland areas. Comments?
Spotted on Feb 1, 2014
Submitted on Mar 11, 2014
