Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalusA large white waterbird with a hefty bill and a yellow-orange throat pouch. Note the pink bare skin around eye that extends towards the bill. Young birds have browner overall plumage relative to adults with brown upper wings and a brown head. Legs are pink. In flight shows dark flight feathers which contrast with the rest of the wing. Often seen fishing cooperatively, swimming in a wide arc to round up the fish and then scoop them into their pouch.Pelecanidae bird family
Order Pelecaniformes · 3 selected species
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Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalusA large white waterbird with a hefty bill and a yellow-orange throat pouch. Note the pink bare skin around eye that extends towards the bill. Young birds have browner overall plumage relative to adults with brown upper wings and a brown head. Legs are pink. In flight shows dark flight feathers which contrast with the rest of the wing. Often seen fishing cooperatively, swimming in a wide arc to round up the fish and then scoop them into their pouch.
Spot-billed PelicanPelecanus philippensisA large pale waterbird with a hefty pinkish pouched bill marked with diagnostic dark spots on the upper mandible. The head is grizzled with a hint of a shaggy crest and the back of the neck is dark. Rings of bare skin around each eye that make this bird look like it's wearing glasses. In breeding plumage, the rump, sides, and underwing coverts are salmon pink and the breast ochre yellow. Often seen in large lakes and estuaries fishing in groups. Nests in noisy colonies in trees bleached by droppings.Spot-billed PelicanPelecanus philippensisA large pale waterbird with a hefty pinkish pouched bill marked with diagnostic dark spots on the upper mandible. The head is grizzled with a hint of a shaggy crest and the back of the neck is dark. Rings of bare skin around each eye that make this bird look like it's wearing glasses. In breeding plumage, the rump, sides, and underwing coverts are salmon pink and the breast ochre yellow. Often seen in large lakes and estuaries fishing in groups. Nests in noisy colonies in trees bleached by droppings.