American White Pelican

Overview

The American White Pelican is a huge, gleaming white waterbird, one of the largest flying birds in North America, easily recognized in flight by the sharp black-and-white contrast of its wings. Unlike the Brown Pelican, it feeds while swimming on the water surface rather than by diving.

Breeding adults develop a distinctive fibrous plate on the upper bill that is shed after the breeding season, a unique feature among North American birds, though this relates to bill structure rather than feathers directly.

American White Pelican feathers are large, given the bird's exceptional size, and mostly white.

• Body feathers: White overall, including the back, breast, and belly.
• Flight feathers: Primaries and outer secondaries are solid black, creating a bold contrast with the white wing coverts and body when the wing is spread.
• Feather size: Among the largest feathers likely to be found from any North American bird, reflecting the species' great size.
• Compared to Brown Pelican: The overall white body plumage, rather than dark grayish-brown, immediately separates American White Pelican feathers from Brown Pelican.

Adults are white overall with black primaries and outer secondaries visible mainly in flight, and a pale yellowish-orange wash sometimes present on the breast during breeding season. Sexes look alike. Juveniles are similar to adults but with some grayish mottling on the head and neck that clears with maturity. Molt is complete after the breeding season, and breeding adults also develop then shed a unique fibrous knob on the bill unrelated to feather molt.

American White Pelicans breed colonially on islands in freshwater lakes and wetlands across interior North America, then migrate to wintering areas along coastal bays, estuaries, and inland waters farther south, including the Gulf Coast and parts of Central America. They favor calm, open water bodies for both breeding and foraging, generally avoiding rough open ocean.

Unlike the Brown Pelican, this species feeds while swimming, often cooperatively herding fish into shallow water with coordinated group movements before scooping them up in its large throat pouch, rather than diving from the air. It nests in dense colonies on isolated islands, building a simple ground scrape, and typically raises one or two chicks per season. Calls are generally low grunts, given mainly around breeding colonies, as the species is largely silent elsewhere.