Animal
Brown pelican
The brown pelican is a big seabird with a very long bill and a stretchy pouch. It dives into the sea with a splash to catch fish.
The brown pelican is a large coastal bird of the Americas with an enormous bill and a stretchy throat pouch. It catches fish by diving head-first into the sea from high in the air. Brown pelicans almost disappeared from North America because of pesticides such as DDT, but after DDT was banned they made a full comeback.
Pelecanus occidentalis is one of only two pelicans that plunge-dive for food, using the impact to stun schooling fish and its pouch to trap them. Pesticide poisoning drove North American populations close to extinction in the mid-1900s; after the 1972 DDT ban they recovered and were fully removed from the US endangered list in 2009. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern and increasing (2018).
Photo: © Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the brown pelican
The brown pelican is a big bird that lives by the sea.
It has a very long bill. Under the bill is a stretchy pouch, like a bag. Its head is yellow and its body is gray-brown.
The brown pelican is a huge seabird: 1 to 1.37 meters long, with wings about 2 meters across. Its most famous feature is its bill, which is very long, with a stretchy throat pouch underneath that it uses to scoop up fish.
Grown-up brown pelicans are gray-brown with a yellow head and a white neck. In the breeding season the back and sides of the neck turn a rich, dark reddish brown. Young pelicans are gray-brown all over, with a pale belly.
Pelecanus occidentalis is a large pelican, 100 to 137 centimeters long, weighing 2 to 5 kilograms, with a wingspan of about 2 meters, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The long bill carries an expandable throat (gular) pouch.
Adults are gray-brown with yellow heads and white necks; in breeding plumage the back and sides of the neck become dark reddish brown. Immatures are gray-brown above, including the head and neck, with a whitish breast and belly. Cornell notes that its close relative, the Peruvian pelican of the Pacific coast of South America, is a little larger.
Quick facts
- Group
- Bird
- Length
- 1 to 1.37 m
- Wingspan
- 2 m
- Weight
- 2 to 5 kg
- Lifespan in the wild
- up to 43 years
Where it lives
Brown pelicans live by the sea in North and South America.
They rest on rocks, sandbars and piers. They nest on small islands.
Brown pelicans live all year along warm sea coasts of the Americas. They breed from Maryland down to Venezuela on the Atlantic side, and from southern California to southern Ecuador on the Pacific side, including the Caribbean islands and the Galápagos.
They live in estuaries, where rivers meet the sea, and along shallow coasts. When they are not fishing, they rest on sandbars, jetties, wooden posts and rocks. After breeding, some wander north as far as British Columbia or New York.
The IUCN's 2018 global assessment lists the species across the Caribbean, the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the Pacific coast from the United States to Ecuador (including the Galápagos) and northern South America, with non-breeding birds in Peru. Cornell describes breeding between Maryland and Venezuela and between southern California and southern Ecuador, with post-breeding wandering to British Columbia and New York.
On the Atlantic and Gulf coasts colonies use barrier islands, estuary islands and dredge-spoil islands, and in Florida and southern Louisiana mainly mangrove islets; on the West Coast they nest on dry, rocky offshore islands.
Continents
Did you know?
A pelican twists as it dives.
When it dives, a brown pelican tucks its head and twists to the left, probably to protect the tubes in its neck.
Cornell suggests the leftward twist cushions the trachea and esophagus, which lie on the right side of the neck.
Where can you find this animal?
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
- Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Warm sea coasts, estuaries and islands of the Americas: the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the Caribbean, the Pacific coast from California to Ecuador (including the Galápagos) and northern South America. Many small Caribbean islands are also in the range but have no separate map shape. Pelicans live only along the coast of the countries shown.
Places: United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and 15 more places.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia, Belize and 33 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Non-breeding birds occur in Peru (IUCN), and after breeding some wander north to British Columbia in Canada (Cornell Lab).
Places: Peru and Canada.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
A splashy way to fish
Brown pelicans dive into the sea to catch fish.
Splash! The pouch fills with water and fish. The pelican lets the water drain out, then swallows the fish.
Brown pelicans eat mostly small fish that swim in schools near the surface, such as menhaden, mullet, anchovies and herring. A pelican spots a fish from the air and dives head-first from as high as about 20 meters. The force of hitting the water stuns the fish.
As the pelican plunges in, its pouch stretches to hold up to about 10 liters of water along with the fish. Then it drains the water out before swallowing. Gulls sometimes try to steal the fish right out of its pouch!
The diet is mostly small schooling fish near the surface, including menhaden, mullet, anchovies, herring and sailfin mollies. Cornell describes dives from as high as 65 feet (about 20 meters); the bird tucks and twists to the left, probably to protect the trachea and esophagus on the right side of the neck, and uses the impact to stun prey.
The pouch expands to hold up to 2.6 gallons (about 10 liters) of water. Feeding is usually over estuaries and shallow coastal water within about 12 miles (19 kilometers) of shore. Pelicans also feed from the surface, steal fish and take handouts at piers.
A bill with a built-in net
A pelican's pouch is made of stretchy skin.
It works like a fishing net. Pelicans also keep their eggs warm with their feet!
The pelican's throat pouch is a stretchy bag of skin hanging under its long bill. When the pelican dives, the pouch balloons open and scoops up fish and water together, like a fishing net.
Brown pelicans walk a bit awkwardly on land, but they are strong swimmers and expert fliers. They often fly in lines or V shapes just above the waves, rising and falling with them. They even keep their eggs warm by standing on them with the skin of their feet.
The expandable gular pouch acts as a dip net, filling with water and fish during a plunge; the water is drained before the prey is swallowed. Cornell notes that the brown pelican and the Peruvian pelican are the only pelicans that plunge-dive.
On land the gait is awkward, but the species is a strong swimmer and an expert flier, traveling to fishing grounds in lines or V-formations just above the water. Pelicans incubate with the skin of their feet, essentially standing on the eggs; in the DDT era, thin-shelled eggs cracked under the weight of the incubating parents.
Growing up
Pelicans build nests on the ground or in trees.
The mother lays two to four eggs. Mom and dad keep them warm and feed the chicks fish.
A male pelican chooses a nest site on the ground or at the top of a tree and sways his head to attract a female. He brings sticks, and she builds the nest in 7 to 10 days.
The female lays 2 to 4 chalky white eggs, and both parents keep them warm for 29 to 35 days. The chicks hatch with bare pink skin. At first the parents feed them mashed-up fish, then whole fish. The young can fly after about 3 months and are adults at 3 to 5 years.
Pairs are monogamous through the breeding season. The male selects a ground or treetop site, defends it for up to 3 weeks and attracts a female with head-swaying displays; she builds the nest in 7 to 10 days from material he brings, from grass-lined scrapes to stick platforms.
The clutch is 2 to 4 eggs, incubated for 29 to 35 days. Hatchlings are helpless, with bare pink skin and open eyes. Parents regurgitate predigested fish, later whole fish; the nestling period is 77 to 84 days, and sexual maturity comes at 3 to 5 years.
Social seabirds
Brown pelicans like to be together.
They fly in lines over the waves. They nest in big groups on islands.
Brown pelicans are social all year round. They fly together in lines or V shapes, rest in groups on sandbars and jetties, and nest in colonies that can hold several thousand pairs, usually on small islands that are free of predators that hunt on land.
They usually fish during the day, but on nights with a full moon they may fish after dark. Look for a big splash near the shore: it may be a pelican diving!
The species is highly social throughout the year. Colonies of up to several thousand pairs form mainly on small islands free of terrestrial predators, and groups roost on sandbars, pilings, jetties, breakwaters and offshore rocks.
Foraging is usually by day, but pelicans may feed at night under a full moon. Cornell notes that suddenly disturbed birds may leave the nest in a hurry and sometimes crush their eggs, which is why disturbance near colonies matters.
Did you know?
The oldest brown pelican known was 43 years old.
The oldest brown pelican on record lived to 43 years of age.
The longevity record for the species is 43 years, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
A conservation comeback
Long ago, a poison made pelican eggs break.
People stopped using the poison. Now there are many brown pelicans again!
In the 1950s to 1970s, brown pelicans nearly vanished from North America. A pesticide called DDT got into the fish they ate and made their eggshells so thin that they cracked when parents sat on them. Another pesticide, endrin, killed pelicans directly.
In 1970 brown pelicans were listed as endangered in the United States, and in 1972 DDT was banned. Numbers rose again, and the species was removed from the endangered list in 2009. Today oil spills and disturbance at nesting islands are still risks.
Cornell calls the brown pelican a living symbol of successful conservation. The pesticide endrin killed birds outright and DDT caused thin-shelled eggs that broke under incubating parents. The species was federally listed as endangered in 1970; DDT was banned in 1972; Atlantic and eastern Gulf populations were delisted in 1985, Louisiana birds were reintroduced from 1968 to 1980, and the species was fully delisted in 2009.
The IUCN's 2018 global assessment lists it as Least Concern and increasing, and Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 370,000. Oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, and disturbance at colonies remain threats.
IUCN Red List
How is the brown pelican doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
See the IUCN Red List assessment · The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3
Amazing facts
-
Pelicans keep their eggs warm with their feet.
Brown pelicans keep their eggs warm with the skin of their feet, standing on them.
Parents incubate by standing on the eggs with the skin of their feet; in the DDT era, thin shells broke under their weight.
-
Gulls sometimes steal fish from a pelican's pouch.
While a pelican drains water from its pouch, gulls sometimes try to steal the fish, even perching on the pelican's head.
Gulls and terns often attempt to steal prey from pelicans as they drain water from the pouch after a dive.
-
A pelican twists as it dives.
When it dives, a brown pelican tucks its head and twists to the left, probably to protect the tubes in its neck.
Cornell suggests the leftward twist cushions the trachea and esophagus, which lie on the right side of the neck.
-
The oldest brown pelican known was 43 years old.
The oldest brown pelican on record lived to 43 years of age.
The longevity record for the species is 43 years, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Words to know
- pouch
- a stretchy bag of skin, like the one under a pelican's bill
- plunge dive
- diving head-first into water from the air to catch food
- estuary
- the place where a river meets the sea
- pesticide
- a chemical used to kill insects or other pests
- colony
- a large group of animals that live and breed together
- endangered
- at risk of disappearing from the wild
Discovery challenge
-
How does a brown pelican catch fish?
How does a brown pelican usually catch its fish?
What is the brown pelican's main way of catching prey?
- It dives into the water from the air
- It digs in the sand
- It waits under a tree
Show the answer
It dives into the water from the air
It dives into the sea with a big splash.
It dives head-first from as high as about 20 meters and scoops fish into its pouch.
By plunge diving, stunning fish on impact and trapping them in the expanding pouch.
-
What is under a pelican's bill?
What does a pelican use like a fishing net?
Which structure traps fish and water during a pelican's dive?
- A stretchy pouch
- A long tongue
- Sharp teeth
Show the answer
A stretchy pouch
A stretchy pouch, like a bag.
Its throat pouch stretches to hold up to about 10 liters of water and fish.
The expandable gular pouch, which holds up to 2.6 gallons of water.
-
What made pelican eggs break long ago?
Which pesticide made brown pelican eggshells too thin?
Which pesticide caused thin-shelled brown pelican eggs in the mid-1900s?
- Rain
- DDT
- Sand
Show the answer
DDT
A poison called DDT made the eggs break.
DDT made the shells so thin that they cracked under the parents. It was banned in the US in 1972.
DDT; endrin also killed birds outright. Recovery followed the 1972 ban and reduced endrin use.
-
Where do brown pelicans live?
Where do brown pelicans live?
Which describes the brown pelican's range?
- On coasts of the Americas
- In deserts of Africa
- On mountain tops in Asia
Show the answer
On coasts of the Americas
They live by the sea in the Americas.
They live along warm coasts from the United States to northern South America and the Galápagos.
Atlantic, Gulf, Caribbean and Pacific coasts of the Americas, from the United States to Ecuador.
Places where you might see it
-
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United States
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Mexico
Mexico is a large country in southern North America, between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It has smoking volcanoes, ancient cities built by the Maya and other peoples, and about 132 million people, many of them in and around Mexico City.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Describe how a brown pelican plunge-dives and uses its pouch.
- Describe the brown pelican's life cycle and colonies.
- Explain how DDT harmed pelicans and how banning it helped them recover.
- Identify the coasts where brown pelicans live.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a chemical sprayed on farms end up in a seabird's eggs?
- What does the brown pelican's comeback teach us about solving environmental problems?
- How is a pelican's pouch like a fishing net, and how is it different?
Try at home or in class
- Use a plastic bag as a 'pouch' to scoop small floating objects from a tub of water, then let the water drain out.
- Measure 2 meters on the floor and lie beside it to compare your height with a pelican's wingspan.
Key vocabulary: pouch, plunge dive, estuary, pesticide, colony, endangered
Where these facts come from
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Pelecanus occidentalis (Brown Pelican), Red List global assessment 2018 , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Brown Pelican overview , Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
- Brown Pelican life history , Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
- Brown Pelican identification , Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 24, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.