Australian Pelican

 

[TimeStamp: DEC/2010 -  Device: Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-18; Location: Lake conjula, NSW]

The Australian Pelican is found throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia, with occasional reports in New Zealand and various western Pacific islands.

There are seven species of pelicans in the world, all of which are similar in shape and, with one exception, are primarily white in colour. Males are larger than females. The most characteristic feature of pelicans is the elongated bill with its massive throat pouch. The Australian Pelican's bill is 40 cm - 50 cm long and is larger in males than females. Pelicans have large wings and a wingspan of 2.3 m - 2.5 m.

[Device used: Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-70; Lake Tyres, Victoria, Australia/2019]

The Pelican’s massive bill has an extendable pouch which can hold up to 13 litres of water.

The pouch acts as a net to catch fish. They strain all the water out the sides of their bills, then swallow their meal immediately – Pelicans don't hold things in their pouch for any extended length of time.

Pelicans are graceful fliers, but they can be quite clumsy on the ground with their big bodies and large, blue webbed feet.

During periods of drought when fish are becoming scarce, Pelicans will eat seagulls or ducklings.

Pelican youngsters throw very dramatic tantrums- It is a form of begging for food.

[Device used: iPhone7; Lake Tyres, Victoria, Australia/2019]

Australian Pelicans love large expanses of open water that don’t have a lot of aquatic vegetation. Pelicans can live near freshwater, estuarine and marine wetlands, and waterways such as shores, lakes, rivers, swamps and coastal islands.

You’ll recognise a Pelican instantly by its large bill, which can grow up to 50 cm long, and its large size. Australian Pelicans grow to 1.8 m long and can have a wingspan of up to 2.5 m. Male Pelicans are larger than females.

With their big wings, Pelicans easily hitch rides on warm thermal air currents to rise to heights of up to 3,000 metres in the air. They can stay up there for 24 hours and can reach speeds of up to 56 km/h. They can travel hundreds of kilometres in one flight.

Australian Pelicans breed at any time of year in colonies of up to 40,000 birds, based on islands or secluded shores. They may live up to 25 years or more. [1]