American White Pelican

Something new and different today. While driving along the Mississippi River last March we came across this beautiful colony of White Pelicans on their way back north to their Summer breeding grounds. There were literally 100's of them along the shoreline.

The American White Pelican has a vertebra in their neck that prohibits them from raising their face. During mating season the males develope a fibrous plate on the upper part of the beak that is only characteristic in the White Pelican population. You can see it very clearly on the beaks of the birds in the large size.

Mostly white with black primary and outer secondary feathers, they have a wingspan of 8-91/2 feet. The lower mandible of the beak stretches up to 6 inches. They don't hit the water from on high and dive for their food like the Brown Pelican. Instead, they float on the water and scoop up their prey, then turn the beak sideways, drain the water, then swallow.

The females lay from 1-4 eggs. Chicks are naked at birth, but by the time they are 10 days old they are covered with white down. Both parents incubate the eggs with their large webbed feet, with the eggs hatching in about 30 days. The chicks dig regurgitated food out of their parents pouches. Chicks will leave the nest and join the pod, or a creche of young pelicans, when they are 17-28 days old. Chicks fledge when they are about 10 weeks old.

White Pelicans in the wild can live more than 16 years, with the record standing at 34 years...quite an impressive lifespan in the wild, imho.

Hope you enjoy today's posts...something not seen too often.

Have a great Friday, and wonderful weekend...=-)

Daisy