two pelicans in flight
For the Love of Pelicans

For the Love of Pelicans

By |

For the Love of Pelicans, who’s bills hold more then their bellies can. 😉

The two pelicans species I have photographed here in the mid west. The Great White Pelicans and the Brown Pelicans. Yesterday I talked about the difference in their size.

For the Love of Pelicans

They do look similar with their actions and how they hold their heads. But,

  • brown pelican

The White Pelican has the largest wing span reaching 108 inches across. Their wings are beautiful and uniform which makes them glidge effortlessly above. They swim on the water and catch their fish by scooping them up in their bills.

freedom of flight pelican

The brown pelican is made for speed and diving. Their wings spans are shorter, their feathers on the wings are ragged and torn.

Because, they dive sometimes from as high as 60 feet. Air sacs beneath the skin on their breasts act like cushions. Also, while diving, a pelican rotates its body ever so slightly to the left. This rotation helps avoid injury to the esophagus and trachea, which are located on the right side of the bird’s neck.

For the Love of Pelicans

This is how a Brown Pelican catches food, diving in head first. They can’t be all pretty and preened when nose diving all day for food.

Have a Great Weekend

For the Love of Pelicans

Share

Discover more from Into the Light Adventures

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

159 Replies to “For the Love of Pelicans”

  1. Pingback: For the Love of Pelicans – Wise king
  3. Pingback: For the Love of Pelicans – !@#$%^&*
  8. Pingback: For the Love of Pelicans – 🌲geniodgy’s+AMEO'o
  17. Pingback: For the Love of Pelicans – Highvibeslife

  32. That was interesting. I’ve only seen the white pelicans in my part of the world (Alberta, Canada). I’ve discovered a special island that they return to year after year. They share it with Cormorants.

  35. That was a lot of facts on the difference between the two types of pelicans. That is a huge wingspan that you have captured Sandra and I like the up-close shots of the face/bill.

  37. De superbes clichés de ces pélicans. Un oiseau qu’ici nous ne voyons pas contrairement aux cormorans qui apprécient aussi les rivières..

  45. Pingback: ReBlogging ‘For the Love of Pelicans’ – Link Below | Relationship Insights by Yernasia Quorelios
  48. Pingback: For the Love of Pelicans — Into the Light Adventures – ° BLOG ° Gabriele Romano

  50. This makes me wonder, Sandra, if these Pterodactyls can drink salt water💧🧂as they swallow a whole 🐟! Blessings to you and your family!

    1. Yes, I was wondering that my self, it says the white pelicans hold the fish in their pouch on their bill for a bit and the bill is made to drain out the extra water. I have seen them hold a fish for quite a while before it goes down the hatch. But I have yet to see a brown pelican with a fish. So I am thinking they might eat it right away. Amazing stuff, 🙂

    1. Yes Doug, the white ones are just gorgeous. But I have to say the brown pelicans can be all over the place. But when you see a line of them just skimming over the water, that is a sight to see. Thank you for the link as well Doug, have a great weekend.

      1. You’re welcome! I can visualize the scene you note, and the American white pelicans definitely are something to behold doing that, too.

    1. Thank you and that is ok, we both have a lot of names floating around in our heads trying to remember bird names. 🙂

Comments are closed.

Community

  • gwengrant
  • Giuseppe La Mura
  • joanna • ARTbyJWP
  • lunarrisingsoul
  • Gerry Palermo
  • Florin
  • M1STYK91
  • Centoquarantadue
  • HELLO_world
  • Raymond Horstman

Blog Stats

  • 530,177 hits
Sandra J

Sandra J

I am a traveling photographer, I like to travel rural America, the roads less traveled when I can. I love the great outdoors, my Photo Galleries contain Landscapes, wild life and a few just for fun photos. Thank you and have a great day.

View Full Profile →

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt3SyKbn_ce75FN11tPQU-A?view_as=subscriber