Animal Corner

Discover the many amazing animals that live on our planet.

  • Home
  • A-Z Animals
  • Anatomy
  • Glossary
  • Animal Lists
    • Animal By Letter
    • Animals by Location
    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
  • Free Resources
    • Animal Coloring Pages
    • Animal Jokes
    • Animal Quizzes
  • Pets
    • Dog Breeds
    • Rabbit Breeds
    • Cat Breeds
    • Pet Rodents
    • Animal Care
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Animals / Galapagos Brown Pelican Birds

Galapagos Brown Pelican Birds

Image Source

Brown Pelican Birds

The Brown Pelican is found throughout the Galapagos Islands, skimming over water, plunge-diving and resting in mangrove trees. Brown Pelicans measure around 41 inches in length and have a wingspan of 90 inches. The Galapagos population of the Brown Pelican is said to be an endemic (unique) subspecies of the Pelican Bird.

Adult Brown Pelicans can be distinguished from their infants by their plumage. Adults have a white neck, grey-brown upper body and brown/black lower body.

Brown Pelican infants have grey faces, grey skin and legs, a grey bill and a brown body.

The Brown Pelican is a very graceful flier. It soars the thermals in the air, easily and gracefully. Contrary to this, as graceful as it is in the skies, its plunge-diving into the ocean is somewhat shallow and sloppy.

The Brown Pelicans soul purpose of plunge-diving is for food and it enters the waters with beak open, wings extended and two large feet spread out behind it. Once under the water, the pelican traps fish, along with several gallons of water in its gular sac. The Brown Pelican sits for a moment, trying to remove the water while keeping hold of the fish. It will sometimes lose its catch whilst doing this.

Brown Pelicans build their nests in mangrove trees or in low-lying coastal bushes such as salt bushes. Female Brown Pelicans lay two to three eggs and both parents share in incubation and feeding.

The Brown Pelican belongs to the family of Pelecaniformes and out of all these species, the Pelican has the largest gular sac, from which the juveniles feed. The Brown Pelicans breed throughout the year, but individual colonies tend to breed around the same time each year.

Brown Pelican are successful at raising their offspring, however, unfortunately, many young die from starvation as the Brown Pelican feeding technique is somewhat difficult to learn and many young cannot master it.

 

More Galapagos Sea Birds:

Blue Footed Booby Bird | Red Footed Booby Bird | Masked Booby Bird | Nazca Booby Bird | Brown Pelican | Frigate Birds | Galapagos Penguins | Waved Albatross | Red Billed Tropic Bird | Audubon’s Shearwater Bird | Storm Petrel Bird | Swallow Tailed Gull | Flightless Cormorant | Lava Gull | Brown Noddy Tern | White Cheeked Pintail Duck

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About

  • Whimbrel birds
    Galapagos Whimbrel Birds
  • Galapagos Willet Bird
  • Galapagos Lava Gull Bird
  • Galapagos Rail Bird
  • Galapagos Flycatcher Bird
    Galapagos Flycatcher Bird
  • Galapagos Brown Noddy Tern

About Joanne Spencer

I've always been passionate about animals which led me to a career in training and behaviour. As an animal professional I'm committed to improving relationships between people and animals to bring them more happiness.

Animal Classification

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Pelecaniformes
Family:Pelecanidae
Genus:Pelecanus
Species:P. occidentalis
Binomial name:Pelecanus occidentalis

Search

Most Popular Animals

  • Zebras
  • Aquatic Warbler
  • Atlantic Dolphins
  • Trapdoor Spider
  • Giraffe
  • Meerkats
  • Timber Wolf
  • Praying Mantis
  • Huntsman Spider
  • Vampire Bat

Galapagos Islands

galapagos-islands

Animal Names Glossary

Animal Names

British Wildlife

british-wildlife

Mammals

anatomy

Dog Breeds

dog breeds

Farm Animals

Farm Animals

Best of the Blog

  • 21 Amazing Animals that live in Lakes
  • What are the Fastest Animals in the World?
  • 31 Animals with Weird and Funny Sounding Names
  • Top 15 Deadliest Animals in the World
  • Ophiophagy – Examples of animals that eat snakes
  • List of Fascinating Solitary Animals

Copyright © 2005-2022 · Animal Corner · All Rights Reserved · Affiliate Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Animals Sitemap . About Us

AnimalCorner.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.