This photo is a Brown Pelican on a dock in Shem Creek
Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

By: Caroline Butz

 The Brown Pelican, also known as Pelecanus occidentalis can be found in  warm, shallow waters in Pacific and Atlantic oceans From the United States to Mexico and in the Caribbean. The Brown Pelican domain is Eukarya and the kingdom is Animalia. Phylum is Chordata, the class is aves, the order is Pelecaniformes, and the family is Pelecanidae.  The genus is Pelecanus and the species is occidentalis.  The brown pelican has bilateral symmetry meaning if you folded it in half the size would match up. When young the brown pelican is whiter than when it is older. This organism has a large large beak, webbed feet, and a “bag like” throat attaching to the bottom of their beak. The Brown Pelican has a pointed beak, allowing them to dive in the water to catch organisms below, this is a structural adaptation.  Pelicans have a flimsy throat pouch, allowing them to hold and catch more prey, so they can sustain themselves for a longer period of time; this is a structural adaptation.  The Brown Pelican has small air bags located between  bones, in their chest, neck, under their skin, and under the wings. These bags are helpful for swimming and flight, that is a functional adaptation.  Did you know that a Pelican’s beak can hold up to three buckets of fish. Their flimsy throat pouch allows them to do so.  The Brown Pelican eats fish, crustaceans, tadpoles, and sometimes turtles.  This organism is a heterotroph and endothermic.