Brown Pelican

                                                   Pelecanus occidenalis

 

Habitat:  Along the Pacific Coast and the Northern Gulf of California.  They are also found in

              Mexico. 

Domain:  Eukarya

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum:  Chordata

Class:  Aves

Order:  Pelecaniformes

Family:  Pelecanidoe

Genus:  Pelecanus

Species:  occidentalis

 

     The Brown Pelican has bilateral symmetry.  They are gray-brown with yellow heads and white necks.  One behavioral adaptation is they feed by plunging into the water and scooping up fish with their throat pouches.  Another behavioral adaptation is when they live farther north they migrate south in the fall to find warmer weather.  A structural adaptation is that they have throat pouches to help the catch fish.  An interesting fact about the Brown Pelican is that they are the only pelicans that dive for their food.  Their predators are humans, fish crows, raccoons, bob cats, feral cats, feral dogs, American alligators, sharks, and sea lions.  Their prey are mostly small fish that form schools near the surface of the water.  They are heterotrophic and endothermic.