American White Pelican - Sierra Club BC
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American White Pelican

CAN BE FOUND IN:

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 

Appearance

American white pelicans grow to be 180 centimetres tall and have a long, flat orange bill, white body, and black-tipped wings. 

Range & Habitat

In B.C., they can be found breeding in summer only at Stum Lake in the Central Interior, but they migrate to southwest California and Mexico in the winter. 

Reciprocal relationships

American white pelicans are some of the largest birds in North America. They hunt together, driving small schools of fish into each other’s bill pouches. The nestlings eat fish, crustaceans, and salamanders. They travel in flocks and nest in colonies, each laying from one to six eggs on small mounds. 

The pelicans migrate to the southern United States to mate, and they mate for life! They lay two eggs two days apart to ensure an offspring if the first egg doesn’t hatch or is ill. The parents take turns incubating and turning the eggs with their webbed feet for 30 days until they hatch, two days apart. Often, the second hatchling dies due to competition from the first. Their predators include gulls, coyotes, and large carnivores. 

This pelican is also threatened by marsh draining for agriculture and people disturbing them with boats, airplanes, and hiking. In B.C., they can be found in White Pelican Park in the summer! 

status

COSEWIC: Not at Risk 
CDC: Red, Considered red-listed due to the limited B.C. population 

more information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.   

PHoto credit

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