Summary

Pelicans are large, peculiar waterbirds with a unique way of feeding. Using their long bills and throat pouches, they scoop up fish and other prey from water. Some pelican species plunge dive from the air, others work in cooperative groups to improve their chances of fishing success.

In this episode, we focus on the family Pelecanidae. We go through the characteristics of pelicans, with a focus on their bill and throat pouch.

We also discuss the feeding strategies of pelicans, how they breed, and their evolution.

Finally, we touch on some issues about the conservation of pelicans.

Along the way, we’ll do some myth-busting. There are several misconceptions about pelicans that we need to address.

Links of Interest

• Video about the plunge-diving adaptations of Brown Pelicans
• Video from BBC about pelicans eating Cape Gannet chicks

Research Citations

• Mandibular Bowing and Mineralization in Brown Pelicans (Meyers and Myers. 2005. The Condor)
• Brown Pelican Foraging Success and Kleptoparasitism by Laughing Gulls (Schnell, Woods, and Ploger. 1983. The Auk)
• The phylogenetic relationships of the extant pelicans inferred from DNA sequence data (Kennedy et al. 2013. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution)
• The earliest known pelican reveals 30 million years of evolutionary stasis in beak morphology (Louchart, Tourment, and Carrier. 2011. Journal of Ornithology)
• Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics (Feng et al. 2020. Nature)

Photos of some birds mentioned