Geographic Range
American white pelicans are found throughout North America. They breed in inland,
prairie regions of the United States and Canada and winter in southern and coastal
areas. Breeding occurs in suitable habitat from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, and southwestern Ontario south through northern California, Nevada, and
Colorado. They winter in southern California, coastal and eastern Mexico, the coastal
plain of Texas, and throughout the Gulf states, including Florida. Populations that
breed mostly east of the continental divide tend to migrate to winter ranges in the
Gulf of Mexico, breeding populations west of the continental divide tend to migrate
towards Baja California and western Mexico. There are several, small year-round populations
along the Gulf of Mexico and in central Durango, Mexico. The winter range is characterized
by minimum January temperatures above 4 degrees Celsius.
Habitat
American white pelicans winter in coastal areas, such as coastal bays and estuaries.
Significant inland wintering areas are the Salton Sea in California and large rivers
in areas where water flow prevents freezing. They breed on islands in or near shallow,
inland lakes, rivers, and marshes. Islands can be either permanent islands in freshwater
water bodies or temporary islands in wetlands. These temporary nesting and roosting
habitats can be important in determining breeding and winter distribution. Breeding
islands are commonly more than 50 km from areas used for foraging. American white
pelicans migrate over inland areas with large lakes and rivers for resting and foraging.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- tropical
- saltwater or marine
- freshwater
- Aquatic Biomes
- lakes and ponds
- rivers and streams
- coastal
- brackish water
- Wetlands
- marsh
- Other Habitat Features
- estuarine
Physical Description
American white pelicans are large, white pelicans, there are no similar species in
North America. Their primary and outer secondary feathers are black, their bill and
gular pouch are flesh colored or yellow, and their legs are pale yellow to bright
orange. Both males and females develop a flattened protuberance on the upper bill
during breeding season, which is shed at the end of breeding. American white pelicans
are from 127 to 165 cm in length. The other North American pelican species,
brown pelicans
, are smaller, with dark plumage. Males are slightly larger than females. Their wingspan
is from 244 to 290 and reported masses are from 4.54 to 9 kg. There are no described
subspecies or geographic variation.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
American white pelicans form monogamous pairs in breeding season and defend small
nesting territories in breeding colonies. Pair bonds form on arrival at the breeding
colony through courtship rituals. These courtship displays include a circular courtship
flight, parallel strutting walks, head swaying, and bowing. Bonds last through most
of the breeding season, but whether pairs reform in subsequent years is unknown. Males
guard female mates, although extra-pair copulations seem rare.
- Mating System
- monogamous
Once the bulk of birds arrive on the breeding grounds, pairs begin to form and breed.
Mating occurs from late March through early May. Once a pair has formed, they begin
to establish and defend a nest scrape. This process is highly synchronous in colonies,
with nests being established over the course of about a week. Nests are simple scrapes
with low rims on bare, level ground that are accessible to flying pelicans. Nest sites
typically have little vegetation, but may be among low shrubs, weeds, or grass. They
have 1 brood each year, laying 2 chalky-white eggs 2 days apart. If an egg is lost,
it is not replaced. If both are lost, the nest is deserted. Eggs are incubated continuously
under the foot webs of parents for about 30 days and brooded for about 17 days further.
Young are fed by regurgitation by parents until the young leaves the colony at fledging,
usually at 10 to 11 weeks after hatching. American white pelicans begin breeding at
3 years old.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Both parents incubate eggs, taking turns every 72 hours. When brooding, parents exchange
places about every day.
- Parental Investment
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
protecting
Lifespan/Longevity
American white pelicans typically successfully raise just 1 of the 2 eggs they lay.
Only 9.7% of clutches in one colony successfully raised 2 young to fledgling. Average
mortality of that offspring through its first year of life is 41%. Average mortality
from the 1st to 2nd year is 16%, and average mortality drops after that. The oldest
recorded American white pelican in the wild was 26.4 years old. Nestlings and eggs
die as a result of rolling out of nests, nest abandonment, starvation, attacks by
other pelicans in the nesting colony, exposure, and predation. Adults are killed by
severe weather, hitting wires, and diseases such as botulism.
Behavior
American white pelicans migrate annually, except for a few resident populations in
Mexico and along the Gulf of Mexico. Juveniles migrate to the winter range their first
year and don't begin annual migrations until they are 2 years old. American white
pelicans arrive on the breeding grounds in the spring over a relatively short period,
usually arriving by March or early April. Fall migration is more dispersed. They migrate
during the day in formation in large flocks, often over 180 individuals.
American white pelicans fly gracefully, spreading their wings and sliding onto the
water on their feet as they land. Flight is usually in linear formations or forming
a "V." They flap and glide and may soar on days when they can take advantage of updrafts.
American white pelicans don't dive, as do their relatives,
brown pelicans
, but they are strong swimmers and have subcutaneous air sacs in the region of their
breast that give them buoyancy. They are gregarious birds, always found roosting,
nesting, or foraging in groups. Nesting colonies are very large and densely populated,
often around 1000 nests.
- Key Behaviors
- flies
- natatorial
- diurnal
- motile
- migratory
- sedentary
- territorial
- social
- colonial
Home Range
American white pelicans defend small nesting territories in breeding colonies, often
jabbing at their neighbors, including other species of nesting waterbirds (
Phalacrocorax auritus
,
Larus
). Nests may be only 1 m apart. They do not have defined home ranges, instead ranging
widely throughout the non-breeding season to forage and roost.
Communication and Perception
Adult American white pelicans are relatively silent, only using low grunts when in
aggressive or sexual interactions. Young pelicans squawk loudly to beg for food. American
white pelicans use a variety of visual displays to communicate aggression, appeasement,
and alarm. They will jab at others with their bill or extend their gaped mouth towards
them, usually in aggressive interactions around territories or mating. They hold their
head upright with the bill extended horizontally and the gular pouch expanded, accompanied
by a grunt, as a greeting or mild threat. In flight over colonies they stop flapping
briefly and hold the bill down as another mild threat. Crouching or bowing is an appeasement
display in young and adults. Courtship includes several visual displays in the air
and on the ground, including circular courtship flights above the colony, parallel
strutting displays between pairs, bowing, and head swaying between mates at the nest.
Food Habits
American white pelicans forage in shallow waters for fish, crustaceans, and amphibians.
They may also forage in deeper waters where fish occur near the surface. They forage
during the day typically, but may forage at night during the breeding season. They
forage alone or in cooperative groups, they dip their bills into the water while swimming
at the surface and scoop prey into their bill and gular pouch. Cooperative foraging
groups may collaborate to drive prey into shallow waters to make it more difficult
for them to escape capture. Individuals that forage in groups tend to have greater
foraging success. Plunge-diving, as in
brown pelicans
, has only been rarely observed in these pelicans. They will also take prey from other
pelicans or waterbirds, including
double-crested cormorants
,
gulls
, and other pelicans. American white pelicans eat mainly small, schooling fish, although
they also eat crayfish and amphibians on inland lakes and rivers in the breeding season.
Fish recorded in the diet include
carp
,
minnows
,
tui chub
, and occasionally game fish, such as
salmon
.
- Animal Foods
- amphibians
- fish
- aquatic crustaceans
Predation
Breeding colonies on isolated islands help to lessen the threat of terrestrial predators
on American white pelican young and eggs.
Red foxes
and
coyotes
are threats to breeding colonies that are accessible. Gull species prey on eggs and
young, including
herring gulls
,
California gulls
, and
ring-billed gulls
. Also,
common ravens
prey on eggs and
great horned owls
and
bald eagles
take young. Adult size may lessen the risk of predation, but coyotes have been known
to take adults. Although American white pelicans readily forage and loaf near humans,
they are easily disturbed from nests, abandoning their young readily when a threat
is perceived. Gulls take advantage of this to attack exposed nestlings. They also
attack nestlings that have wandered from the nest or been expelled by an older sibling.
Gulls also take food from young if they empty their stomach contents after being disturbed.
These pelicans don't leave the nest in response to avian predators, instead jabbing
at them with their bills.
Ecosystem Roles
American white pelicans often breed in colonies along with
double-crested cormorants
,
gull species
,
Canada geese
,
great blue herons
,
common terns
, and
Caspian terns
.
American white pelicans suffer from infestations of biting lice ( Piagetiella peralis ), especially around their mouth and gular pouch. Nematodes ( Contracaecum spiculigerum ) and tape worms (tape worms Hymenolepis species, Dibothrium cordiceps , Oilgorchis longivaginatus ) have been reported from guts. One individual was infested with subcutaneous mites ( Pelecanectes apunctatus ).
- biting lice ( Piagetiella peralis )
- nematodes ( Contracaecum spiculigerum )
- tape worms ( Hymenolepis species)
- tape worms ( Dibothrium cordiceps )
- tape worms ( Oilgorchis longivaginatus )
- subcutaneous mites ( Pelecanectes apunctatus )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
American white pelicans are lovely, majestic birds that are appreciate by bird enthusiasts.
Historically they were also hunted for sport.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of American white pelicans on humans. They were
previously persecuted because of the misperception that they compete with humans for
fish prey, but American white pelicans eat mainly small fish with no commercial value.
Conservation Status
There have been documented increases in American white pelican populations in recent
years, resulting from conservation efforts. Historically populations declined in response
to destruction of breeding and foraging habitats and continued destruction of wetland
habitats remains one of the most important influences on current populations. American
white pelicans are especially sensitive to human disturbance at nesting sites, where
human presence can result in temporary or permanent nest abandonment, increasing the
likelihood of mortality associated with exposure and
gull
predation. Common human disturbances at nesting colonies are low-flying airplanes
or motorboats. Pesticide use throughout their range has resulted in egg-shell thinning
and poisoning. They are considered least concern by the IUCN because of their large
population sizes and broad range.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (author), Animal Diversity Web.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- saltwater or marine
-
mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.
- freshwater
-
mainly lives in water that is not salty.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- brackish water
-
areas with salty water, usually in coastal marshes and estuaries.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- estuarine
-
an area where a freshwater river meets the ocean and tidal influences result in fluctuations in salinity.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- migratory
-
makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- piscivore
-
an animal that mainly eats fish
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Knopf, F., R. Evans. 2004. American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). The Birds of North America Online , 57: 1-20. Accessed May 06, 2009 at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/057 .