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Brown Pelican splashing down
Pelecanus occidentalis
16.5029, -88.1662
Field Notes
Description:
The brown pelican is a large, grayish-brown bird with a blackish belly and a white head and neck. It has a long beak with a thin, membranous pouch.
Habitat:
Moho Caye near Belize Barrier Reef. The water around the caye was teaming with huge schools of small fish that attracted pelicans.
Notes:
Brown pelicans are the only species to dive into the water from 30 feet above to capture prey. After catching the prey and a lot of water, they tip their bill downward to drain the water before swallowing the fish.
2. While brown pelicans are known for diving, they will never be deep divers due to the extensive system of subcutaneous air-sacs that give them theirbuoyancy in the water.
3. The pelican's pouch (gular pouch) is used as a dip net to catch fish, which are soon swallowed into the stomach (the center of gravity) so that they can maintain their balance while flying.
4. They have an extendable sac of skin at the base of their throat, which is capable of holding up to 3 gallons of water, several times more than their belly.
5. Most fossil species of pelican are placed in the same genus as the modern pelican due to extreme anatomical similarities. This suggests that the present form of pelican has changed very little over the past 30-40 million years.
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