# American White Pelican

*Pelecanus erythrorhynchos*

Unlike their brown cousins, American White Pelicans do not plunge-dive; they scoop prey into their pouches while swimming on the surface.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Pelecaniformes › Pelecanidae › Pelecanus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Inland shallow lakes, marshes, and coastal lagoons during winter.
- **Diet:** Primarily fish such as minnows, carp, and catfish, as well as crayfish and salamanders.
- **Range:** North America, Canada, United States, Mexico
- **Size:** Wingspan of 2.4-3 meters (8-10 ft); weight of 5-9 kg (11-20 lbs).
- **Lifespan:** 15-25 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat degradation, water diversion, and human disturbance at sensitive nesting colonies.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and shy. Maintain a distance of at least 50 yards to avoid disturbing their feeding or resting. If birds take flight, you are too close. Do not attempt to feed them.

## About

The American white pelican ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winter.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/0e9420a4-62b1-4eed-886b-06c4f1c19941
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4334
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/13245919/medium.jpg (Frank Schulenburg, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.