Brown Pelican: how to recognise it
A bird of North America, South America and Oceania. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © BJ Stacey · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Pelecanus occidentalis
- Family
- Pelicans
- Size
- About 120 cm
- Habitat
- Coasts, bays, beaches and harbours
- Found in
- North America, South America and Oceania
The key marks
Grey-brown pelican with a white head and neck (yellowish when breeding) and a grey-brown bill pouch. American White Pelican is mostly white with black flight feathers and an orange bill.
Voice
Almost silent as an adult, apart from low croaks.
Good to know
It plunge-dives from the air to catch fish, whereas white pelicans scoop fish while swimming.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the American White Pelican. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in coasts, bays, beaches and harbours. It is especially common in Ecuador, Mexico, Florida and Panama. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.