Tuesday, January 05, 2010

He belongs to the Pelicanidae family


A pelican is a large water bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.

Along with the darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, pelicans make up the order Pelecaniformes. Modern pelicans, of which there are eight species, are found on all continents except Antarctica. They occur mostly in warm regions, though breeding ranges reach 45° south (Australian Pelican, P. conspicillatus) and 60° North (American White Pelicans, P. erythrorhynchos, in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean, oceanic islands, and inland South America.

Pelicans are large birds with large pouched bills. The smallest is the Brown Pelican (P. occidentalis), small individuals of which can be as little as 2.75 kg (6 lb), 106 cm (42 in) long and can have a wingspan of as little as 1.83 m (6 ft). The largest is believed to be the Dalmatian Pelican (P. crispus), at up to 15 kg (33 lb), 183 cm (72 in) long, with a maximum wingspan of nearly 3.5 m (11.5 ft). The Australian Pelican has the longest bill of any bird.

Pelicans swim well with their short, strong legs and their feet with all four toes webbed (as in all birds placed in the order Pelecaniformes). The tail is short and square, with 20 to 24 feathers. The wings are long and have the unusually large number of 30 to 35 secondary flight feathers. A layer of special fibers deep in the breast muscles can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus they can exploit thermals to commute over 150 km (100 miles) to feeding areas.

Pelicans rub the backs of their heads on their preen glands to pick up its oily secretion, which they transfer to their plumage to waterproof it.

Read and learn more about the Pelicans here


Hi my friends,

thank you very much for all the kind comments to my sunset photos from yesterday. I knew it you'll like them. It was indeed a breathtaking sunset!

Today I have a little post about pelican birds. We see them flying here in Florida at the coast and at the beaches, they are everywhere. They fly around in groups or there are also single ones, like this one in my photo today. I think he was a sort of recovering from probably broken legs, because he couldn't walk very well. That gave me the opportunity to get close enough to him to get this photo. He looks beautiful!

Looking forward to see you tomorrow again.

Susanne


CALENDARS 2010, do you still need one? I have some left for you....


14 comments:

The Retired One said...

We are identical in our posts!
As you know we went to Florida in December and due to computer problems,I am just posting all of my Florida pix over the next few weeks..they will and have contained several pictures of these beautiful birds. In fact, stay tuned, I prepublished one for later this week where I took a photo of a pelican face almost identical to your shot here. Too funny!
Anyway, thanks for the info on them..I am fascinated by them..they are such gorgeous birds!!! I took over 50 pictures of them while there.

S-V-H said...

Thank you Joan :) maybe we are soul related together...*smile*...

Anonymous said...

From the photo, I like to see her hair straight up. Make she look beautiful in the brown colored hair. Beautiful photo with interesting narration. Not only provided us with a beautiful photo, now we learn something about her. Very attractive posting.Thanks Sue

Marcie said...

What a wonderful capture..and interesting commentary. Always great to learn something new!!

Yvi said...

Lovely bird! Nice photo!

Greetings
Yvi

S-V-H said...

I'm glad you enjoyed this post so much, rad. Thanks for the comment :)

S-V-H said...

Thank you Marcie :)

S-V-H said...

Greetings back to you Yvi - thanks for the comment :)

Carole said...

Nice detailed shot Sue

S-V-H said...

Thanks for stopping by, Carol :)

nothingprofound said...

Last May, my wife and I were visiting my daughter in California. While walking on the beach we saw a huge blur in the distance, covering the sky. It was a flock of pelicans, literally hundreds of them, approaching. They landed on the sand not twenty feet from where we were standing. It was one of the most amazing spectacles I've seen in my life.

S-V-H said...

It's quiet a great experience you had. Did you have your camera with you :)
Thanks for the comment!

myonlyphoto said...

Susanne thanks for the lesson about pelicans. I miss my birding, but Matthew is still my best little bird, lol. Anna :)

S-V-H said...

Enjoy your little birdy, Anna! :)

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