Brown Pelican

Recognition
Young pelicans (juveniles) are brown in color with a pale breast. The adults have a white head. The back of the head is chocolate brown.  About four feet long with an eight foot wing span.

Where seen
Around the bridges on the river, following the “crabbers’” boats on the rivers and sitting on marina posts and channel markers.  There is a roost of about 50 birds under the Edison Bridge structure.

Jimmy’s notes
These pelicans are the diving ones and hang about fishermen begging for food. In flight, they often fly in single file, low over water. These birds are known to live for 30 years. The word pelican is derived from the Greek “pelekan” .This word is very close to the Greek for woodpecker “pelekas”.  While researching pelicans, a research team at Tampa University discovered the link between thin egg shells and pesticides such as DDT, which eventually led to the ban on its use.