Editing Pelican (section)

==Taxonomy and systematics==

===Etymology===
The name comes from the [[Ancient Greek]] word ''pelekan'' (πελεκάν),<ref>{{cite book| last = Jobling| first = James A.| title = The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names| url = https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling| year = 2010| publisher = Christopher Helm| location = London, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4| page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n296 296] }}</ref> which is itself derived from the word ''pelekys'' (πέλεκυς) meaning "axe".<ref>{{cite book| last = Partridge| first = Eric| author-link = Eric Partridge| title = Origins: a Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English| year = 1983| publisher = Greenwich House| location = New York, New York| isbn = 0-517-414252| page = [https://archive.org/details/originsshortetym0000part/page/479 479]| url = https://archive.org/details/originsshortetym0000part/page/479}}</ref> In [[Classical Greece|classical]] times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker.<ref name=OED>{{Cite encyclopedia| title=Pelican|page=1299 |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|editor1=Simpson, J. |editor2=Weiner, E. | year=1989 |edition= 2nd| location=Oxford, United Kingdom |publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn= 0-19-861186-2}}</ref>

===Taxonomy history===
{{Main|Pelecaniformes#Systematics and evolution}}
The genus ''Pelecanus'' was first formally described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in his landmark 1758 [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']]. He described the distinguishing characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face, and fully webbed feet. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and [[Sulidae|sulids]], as well as pelicans.<ref name="linnaeus">{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=C. |author-link=Carl Linnaeus |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727037 |title=Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae Editio Decima |publisher=Lars Salvius |year=1758 |volume=1 |location=Stockholm |pages=132–34 |language=la |quote=Rostrum edentulum, rectum: apice adunco, unguiculato. Nares lineares. Facies nuda. Pedes digitís omnibus palmatis.}}</ref> The family Pelecanidae was later introduced (as Pelicanea) by the French [[polymath]] [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite book | last=Rafinesque | first=Constantine Samuel | author-link=Constantine Samuel Rafinesque | year=1815 | title=Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés | volume=1815 | publisher=Self-published | place=Palermo | language=fr | page=72 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48310150 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | pages=131, 252 | hdl=2246/830 }}<!--Linked page allows download of the 48MB pdf--></ref>

=== Order and related taxa ===

Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an [[order (biology)|order]] which has undergone significant revision. [[Tropicbird]]s (now [[Phaethontiformes]]), [[darter]]s, [[cormorant]]s, [[Gannet|gannets]], [[Booby|boobies]], and [[Frigatebird|frigatebirds]] (now [[Suliformes]]), all traditional members of the order, have since been removed from Pelecaniformes. In their place, [[Heron|herons]], [[Ibis|ibises]], [[Spoonbill|spoonbills]], the [[hamerkop]], and the [[shoebill]] have now been added into the Pelecaniformes.<ref name="Hackett" /> 

=== Phylogenetic relationships ===

Molecular data support a close relationship between pelicans, [[Shoebill|shoebills]] (''Balaeniceps rex''), and [[Hamerkop|hamerkops]] (''Scopus umbretta'').<ref name="smith2010">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=N.D. |year=2010 |editor1-last=Desalle |editor1-first=Robert |title=Phylogenetic Analysis of Pelecaniformes (Aves) Based on Osteological Data: Implications for Waterbird Phylogeny and Fossil Calibration Studies |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=5 |issue=10 |page=e13354 |bibcode=2010PLoSO...513354S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0013354 |pmc=2954798 |pmid=20976229 |doi-access=free}}</ref>  Together, they form a distinct [[clade]] within Pelecaniformes, although their precise evolutionary relationships remain under study.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mayr |first1=G. |year=2007 |title=Avian higher-level phylogeny: Well-supported clades and what we can learn from a phylogenetic analysis of 2954 morphological characters |journal=Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research |volume=46 |pages=63–72 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0469.2007.00433.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{|
|-
| style="vertical-align:top;"|{{Clade|style=font-size:90%
|label1=
|1={{Clade
   |1=[[Suliformes]]
   |label2=[[Pelecaniformes]]
   |2={{Clade
      |label1=
      |1={{Clade
         |1=[[Heron]]s (Ardeidae)
         |2=[[Threskiornithidae|Ibises and spoonbills]] (Threskiornithidae)
         }}
      |label2=
      |2={{Clade
         |label1=
         |1={{Clade
            |1=[[Hamerkop]] (''Scopus umbretta'')
            |2=[[Shoebill]] (''Balaeniceps rex'')
            }}
         |2=Pelicans (''Pelecanus'')
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

[[Cladogram]] based on Hackett et al. (2008).<ref name="Hackett">{{cite journal |author1=Hackett, S.J. |author2=Kimball, R.T. |author3=Reddy, S. |author4=Bowie, R.C.K. |author5=Braun, E.L. |author6=Braun, M.J. |author7=Chojnowski, J.L. |author8=Cox, W.A. |author9=Han, K.-L. |author10=Harshman, J. |author11=Huddleston, C.J. |author12=Marks, B.D. |author13=Miglia, K.J. |author14=Moore, W.A. |author15=Sheldon, F.H. |author16=Steadman, D.W. |author17=Witt, C.C. |author18=Yuri, T. |year= 2008 |title= A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History |journal= Science |volume= 320|issue= 5884|pages= 1763–68 |doi=10.1126/science.1157704 |pmid=18583609|bibcode=2008Sci...320.1763H|s2cid=6472805 }}</ref>
 |style="vertical-align:top;"|
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = Closest living relatives
| width =150

| image1 = Hammerkopf2.jpg
| alt1 = Head of a hamerkop
| caption1 = [[Hamerkop]]

| image2 = Balaeniceps rex -Ueno Zoo, Tokyo, Japan -upper body-8a.jpg
| alt2 = Head of a shoebill
| caption2 = [[Shoebill]]
}}
|}

===Evolution and fossil record===
The oldest known pelican fossil is ''[[Eopelecanus|Eopelecanus aegyptiacus]]'', a [[tibiotarsus]] from the late [[Eocene]] ([[Priabonian]]) the [[Birket Qarun Formation]] in the [[Wadi El Hitan]] in [[Egypt]] (~36 million years ago). It shows striking similarities with modern species.<ref name=":0" />

Later fossils from the [[Early Miocene]] found at [[Luberon]], France, include ''Pelecanus sp.'' and ''[[Miopelecanus|Miopelecanus gracilis]]''.<ref name="Louchart2010">{{cite journal |author1=Louchart, Antoine |author2=Tourment, Nicolas |author3=Carrier, Julie |year=2011 |title=The Earliest Known Pelican Reveals 30 Million Years of Evolutionary Stasis in Beak Morphology |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |bibcode=2011JOrni.152...15L |doi=10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5 |s2cid=21016885}}</ref>{{efn|Once thought distinct but now considerted within ''Pelecanus'' variation.<ref name="Louchart2010">{{cite journal |author1=Louchart, Antoine |author2=Tourment, Nicolas |author3=Carrier, Julie |year=2011 |title=The Earliest Known Pelican Reveals 30 Million Years of Evolutionary Stasis in Beak Morphology |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |bibcode=2011JOrni.152...15L |doi=10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5 |s2cid=21016885}}</ref>}} Both fossils show a beak nearly  morphologically identical to that of present-day pelicans.<ref name="Louchart2010" /> This remarkable stasis in pelican [[beak]] morphology may reflect strong functional constraints. Their specialized fish-eating beak has likely remained optimal over millions of years, with changes potentially reducing feeding efficiency.<ref name="Louchart2010" /> Some have also suggested that constraints imposed by flight may have limited the [[Skeleton|skeletal evolution]]<nowiki/>of pelicans.<ref name="Louchart2010" />

Notable fossil species (sorted by region and age) include: 

* '''Europe''': ''[[Pelecanus fraasi|P. fraasi]]'', [[Richard Lydekker|Lydekker]], 1891; ''[[Pelecanus intermedius|P. intermedius]]''{{efn|''Pelecanus intermedius'' was transferred to ''Miopelecanus'' by Cheneval in 1984<ref name="fbbm">{{cite book |author=Lydekker, Richard |url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogueoffossi00foss#page/36/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum |year=1891 |place=London, United Kingdom |pages=37–45 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>}}, Frass,1870; ''[[Pelecanus gracilis|P. gracilis]]'', Milne-Edwards, 1863;<ref name="fbbm">{{cite book |author=Lydekker, Richard |url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogueoffossi00foss#page/36/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum |year=1891 |place=London, United Kingdom |pages=37–45 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus odessanus|P. odessanus]]'', Widhalm, 1886<ref>{{cite journal |author=Widhalm, J. |year=1886 |title=Die Fossilen Vogel-Knochen der Odessaer-Steppen-Kalk-Steinbrüche an der Neuen Slobodka bei Odessa |journal=Schriften der Neurussische Gesellschaft der Naturforscher zu Odessa |language=de |volume=10 |pages=3–9}}</ref>
* '''North America''': ''[[Pelecanus halieus|P. halieus]]'', Wetmore, 1933;<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wetmore, A. |year=1933 |title=Pliocene Bird Remains from Idaho |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_36794_pliocenebirdremainsfromidaho1862 |journal=Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections |volume=87 |issue=20 |pages=1–12}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus schreiberi|P. schreiberi]]'', Olson, 1999<ref name="pbsw">{{cite journal |author=Olson, Storrs L. |year=1999 |title=A New Species of Pelican (Aves: Pelecanidae) from the Lower Pliocene of North Carolina and Florida |url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/6492/1/VZ_293_Pelecanus_schreiberi.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=503–09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719074440/http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/6492/1/VZ_293_Pelecanus_schreiberi.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>
* '''Asia''': ''[[Pelecanus cautleyi|P. cautleyi]]'', Davies, 1880; ''[[Pelecanus sivalensis|P. sivalensis]]'', Davies, 1880<ref name="fbbm" />
* '''South America''': [[Pelecanus paranensis|''P. paranensis'']], Noriega et al., 2023<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Noriega |first1=Jorge I. |last2=Cenizo |first2=Marcos |last3=Brandoni |first3=Diego |last4=Pérez |first4=Leandro M. |last5=Tineo |first5=David E. |last6=Diederle |first6=Juan M. |last7=Bona |first7=Paula |date=2023-05-09 |title=A new pelican (Aves: Pelecanidae) from the Upper Miocene of Argentina: new clues about the origin of the New World lineages |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2023.2202702 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=42 |issue=5 |pages=e2202702 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2202702 |issn=0272-4634 |s2cid=258605013}}</ref>
* '''Australia''': ''[[Pelecanus cadimurka|P. cadimurka]]'', Rich & van Tets, 1981;<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rich, P.V. |author2=van Tets, J. |year=1981 |title=The Fossil Pelicans of Australia |journal=Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) |volume=18 |issue=12 |pages=235–64}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus tirarensis|P. tirarensis]]'', Miller, 1966<ref>{{cite journal |author=Miller, A.H. |year=1966 |title=The Fossil Pelicans of Australia |journal=Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |volume=14 |pages=181–90}}</ref>

==== Controversial and dubious fossil assignments ====

* '''''[[Protopelicanus]]''''' (Late Eocene) – Once considered a possible early pelecaniform, this bird might instead belong to the [[Pelagornithidae]] (pseudotooth birds) or another unrelated aquatic lineage. It is not generally accepted as a member of Pelecanidae.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mlikovsky, Jiri |year=1995 |title=Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Status of Fossil Birds Described by H. G. L. Reichenbach in 1852 |url=http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/087-1995-Reichenbach1852.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg |volume=181 |pages=311–16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006183208/http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/087-1995-Reichenbach1852.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2013 |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

* '''''[[Liptornis]]''''' (Miocene) – Originally described as a pelican, this genus is now considered a ''[[nomen dubium]]'', based on fragmentary material that lacks sufficient diagnostic features.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Olson, Storrs L. |year=1985 |title=Faunal Turnover in South American Fossil Avifaunas: the Insufficiencies of the Fossil Record |journal=Evolution |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=1174–77 |doi=10.2307/2408747 |jstor=2408747 |pmid=28561505}}</ref>

===Extant species and phylogeny===

==== Species overview ====
{{cladogram|caption=Evolutionary relationships among the extant species based on Kennedy et al. (2013).<ref name=kennedy />|
cladogram={{clade|style=line-height:75%
 |label1=
 |1={{clade
  |label1=
  |1={{clade
   |label1=
   |1={{clade
    |label1=
    |1={{clade
     |label1=
     |1={{clade
      |1= ''[[Pelecanus rufescens|P. rufescens]]''
      |2=''[[Pelecanus philippensis|P. philippensis]]''
     }}
     |2=''[[Pelecanus crispus|P. crispus]]''
    }}
    |2=''[[Pelecanus conspicillatus|P. conspicillatus]]''
   }}
   |2=''[[Pelecanus onocrotalus|P. onocrotalus]]''
  }}
  |label2=
  |2={{clade
   |label1=
   |1={{clade
    |1=''[[Pelecanus occidentalis|P. occidentalis]]''
    |2=''[[Pelecanus thagus|P. thagus]]''
   }}
   |2=''[[Pelecanus erythrorhynchos|P. erythrorhynchos]]''
  }}
 }}
}}
}}There are eight extant species of pelicans, which were historically divided into two groups based on plumage colouration and nesting behavior. One group includes four ground-nesting species with predominantly white plumage—the [[Australian pelican|Australian]], [[Dalmatian pelican|Dalmatian]], [[Great white pelican|great white]], and [[American white pelican|American white pelicans]]. The other group consists of four species with grey or brown plumage that nest either in trees or on coastal rocks—the [[Pink-backed pelican|pink-backed]], [[Spot-billed pelican|spot-billed]], [[Brown pelican|brown]], and [[Peruvian pelican|Peruvian pelicans]].<ref name="NSS" /> The largely marine brown and Peruvian pelicans, once considered [[conspecific]], are sometimes placed in the [[subgenus]] ''[[Leptopelecanus]]'' due to their darker colouration and coastal habits.<ref name="hanzab1a">{{cite book |title=Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 1, Ratites to Ducks |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J. (Coordinators). |year=1990 |isbn=0-19-553068-3 |location=Melbourne, Victoria |pages=737–38}}</ref> However, species with similar plumage and nesting behavior are found in both groups, indicating that these traits do not reflect deep evolutionary divisions.<ref name="NSS" />

Genetic analyses using [[Mitochondrial DNA|mitochondrial]] and [[nuclear DNA]] have revealed a different picture of pelican relationships. These studies support the existence of two major clades: a [[New World]] clade, comprising the American white, brown, and Peruvian pelicans, and an [[Old World]] clade that includes the Dalmatian, pink-backed, spot-billed, Australian, and great white pelicans.<ref name="kennedy" /> This phylogeny suggests that pelicans evolved in the Old World and later colonized the Americas. Furthermore, it indicates that nesting behavior is more strongly influenced by body size than by genetic lineage.<ref name="kennedy" />

==== List of living species ====
{| style="width:98%;" class="wikitable"
! style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3a4;" colspan="4"|Living species of ''Pelecanus''
|-
! style="width:18%;"|Common and binomial names<ref name="zoonomen">{{cite web | url =http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pele.html |title = Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Pelecaniformes (Version 2.003) |date =14 December 2011|publisher = zoonomen.net |access-date=21 May 2012 }}</ref>
! Image
! style="text-align:center;"|Description
! style="width:20%;"|Range and status
|-
|[[American white pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''<br />Gmelin, 1789
|[[File:Mikebaird - American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) (bird) in Mo (by).jpg|185px|center|alt=American white pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.3|–|1.8|m|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.44|–|2.9|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight {{convert|5|–|9|kg|lb|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Nellis01">{{cite book| last = Nellis| first = David W.| title = Common Coastal Birds of Florida & the Caribbean| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-REZ4R8wBg4C| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2001| publisher = Pineapple Press| location = Sarasota, Florida| isbn = 1-56164-191-X| page = 11 }}</ref> Plumage almost entirely white, except for black primary and secondary [[Flight feather#Remiges|remiges]] only visible in flight.
|[[Monotypic taxon|Monotypic]]. Breeds in inland Canada and United States, wintering in southern United States, Mexico and Central America.<ref name="iucnerythrorhynchos"/><ref>Elliott (1992), p. 310</ref> Status: least concern.<ref name="iucnerythrorhynchos">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22697611A93624242 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697611A93624242.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|[[Brown pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus occidentalis''<br />Linnaeus, 1766
|[[File:Pelecanus Occidentalis KW 1.JPG|185px|center|alt=Brown pelican]]
|Length up to {{convert|1.4|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2|–|2.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight {{convert|3.6|–|4.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/pdf/brown_pelicanfactsheet09.pdf |title=Brown Pelican |access-date=9 June 2012 |work=Endangered Species Program information sheet |publisher=US Fish & Wildlife Service |date=November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111133115/http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/pdf/brown_pelicanfactsheet09.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2012 }}</ref> Smallest pelican; distinguished by brown plumage; feeds by plunge-diving.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ridgely, Robert S. |author2=Gwynne, John A. | title = A Guide to the Birds of Panama: With Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H9INVOMUgOAC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 1992| publisher = Princeton University Press| location = Princeton, New Jersey| isbn = 0691025126| page = 63 }}</ref>
|Five subspecies. Coastal distribution ranging from North America and the Caribbean to northern South America and the Galapagos.<ref name=sibleymonroe/> Status: least concern.<ref name="iucnoccidentalis">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Pelecanus occidentalis'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22733989A132663224 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22733989A132663224.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|[[Peruvian pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus thagus''<br />Molina, 1782
|[[File:Pelícano en Pucusana.JPG|185px|center|alt=Peruvian pelican]]
|Length up to {{convert|1.52|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.48|m|ft|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite book| author = Chester, Sharon R.| title = A Wildlife Guide to Chile: Continental Chile, Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qrI5ph6BWiIC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2008| publisher = Princeton University Press| location = Princeton, New Jersey| isbn = 978-0691129761| pages = 174–75 }}</ref> average weight {{convert|7|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/marine-birds/peruvian-pelican-pelecanus-thagus/ |title= Peruvian Pelican |access-date= 9 June 2012 |first= Stefan |last= Austermühle |publisher= Mundo Azul |date= 17 October 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120604234020/http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/marine-birds/peruvian-pelican-pelecanus-thagus/ |archive-date= 4 June 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Dark with a white stripe from the crown down the sides of the neck.
|Monotypic. Pacific Coast of South America from Ecuador and Peru south through to southern Chile.<ref name="sibleymonroe">{{cite book|author1=Sibley, Charles Gald |author2=Monroe, Burt Leavelle | title = Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk-vyrNVAccC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 1990| publisher = Yale University Press| isbn = 0300049692| pages = 314–15}}</ref> Status: near threatened.<ref name="iucnthagus">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Pelecanus thagus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22697619A132596827 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697619A132596827.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|[[Great white pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus onocrotalus''<br />[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
|[[File:Whitepelican edit shadowlift edit.jpg|185px|center|alt=Great white pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.40|–|1.75|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.45|–|2.95|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight {{convert|10|–|11|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="BWP">{{cite book|editor1=Snow, David |editor2=Perrins, Christopher M | title = The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes)| year = 1998| publisher = Oxford University Press| location = Oxford, United Kingdom| isbn = 0-19-854099-X| pages = 93–98 }}</ref><ref name="Mullarney ">{{cite book| last = Mullarney| first = Killian| author2 = Svensson, Lars| author3 = Zetterström, Dan| author4 = Grant, Peter| title = Collins Bird Guide| year = 1999| publisher = Collins| isbn = 0-00-219728-6| page = 76 | title-link = Collins Bird Guide}}</ref> Plumage white, with pink facial patch and legs.
|Monotypic. Patchy distribution from eastern Mediterranean east to Indochina and Malay Peninsula, and south to South Africa.<ref name=sibleymonroe/> Status: least concern.<ref name="iucnonocrot">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Pelecanus onocrotalus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22697590A132595920 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697590A132595920.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|[[Australian pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus conspicillatus''<br />Temminck, 1824
|[[File:Pelecanus conspicillatus -Australia -8.jpg|185px|center|alt=Australian pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.60|–|1.90|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.3|–|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight {{convert|4|–|8.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://australian-animals.net/pelican.htm|title=Australian Pelican |date=January 2000 |access-date=10 June 2012|publisher=Unique Australian Animals}}</ref> Predominantly white with black along primaries and very large, pale pink bill.
|Monotypic. Australia and New Guinea; vagrant to New Zealand, Solomons, Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji and [[Wallacea]].<ref name=sibleymonroe/> Status: least concern.<ref name="iucnconspic">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pelecanus conspicillatus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22697608A93623945 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697608A93623945.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|[[Pink-backed pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus rufescens''<br />Gmelin, 1789
|[[File:Pink-backed Pelican - Naivasha - Kenya 50276 (15205474549).jpg|185px|center|alt=Pink-backed pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.25|–|1.32|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.65|–|2.9|m|ft|abbr=on}},<ref name="beaman"/> weight {{convert|3.9|–|7|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>Elliott (1992), p. 309</ref> Grey and white plumage, occasionally pinkish on the back, with a yellow upper mandible and grey pouch.<ref name="beaman"/>
|Monotypic. Africa, Seychelles and southwestern Arabia;<ref name=sibleymonroe/> extinct in Madagascar.<ref>{{cite book| last = Langrand| first = Olivier| title = Guide to the Birds of Madagascar| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VYVqhOqS2WEC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 1990| publisher = Yale University Press| location = New Haven, Connecticut| isbn = 0300043104| page = 96}}</ref> Status: least concern.<ref name="iucnrufescens">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Pelecanus rufescens'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T22697595A111822418 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22697595A111822418.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
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|[[Dalmatian pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus crispus''<br />[[Carl Friedrich Bruch|Bruch]], 1832<ref name=":152">{{Cite journal |last=Bruch |first=Carl Friedrich |date=1832 |title=Ornithologische Mittheilungen |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26455468 |journal=Isis von Oken |volume=10 |pages=1105–1111}}</ref>
|[[File:Pelecanus crispus at Beijing Zoo crop.JPG|185px|center|alt=Dalmatian pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.60|–|1.80|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.70|–|3.20|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight {{convert|10|–|12|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BWP/><ref name= Mullarney/> Largest pelican; differs from great white pelican in having curly nape feathers, grey legs and greyish-white plumage.<ref name="beaman">{{cite book|author1=Beaman, Mark |author2=Madge, Steve | title = The Handbook of Bird Identification: For Europe and the Western Palearctic| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=M_RpY0i2blYC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2010| publisher = A&C Black| location = London, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-1408134948| pages = 83–85 }}</ref>
|Monotypic. South-eastern Europe to India and China.<ref name=sibleymonroe/> Status: near threatened.<ref name=iucncrispus/>
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|[[Spot-billed pelican]]<br />''Pelecanus philippensis''<br />Gmelin, 1789
|[[File:Pelecanus Philippensis.JPG|185px|center|alt=Spot-billed pelican]]
|Length {{convert|1.27|–|1.52|m|ft|abbr=on}}, wingspan {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}, weight c. {{convert|5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="brazil09">{{cite book| author = Brazil, Mark| title = Birds of East Asia| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-GgBoivL70C| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2009| publisher = A&C Black| location = London, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-0713670400| page = 110}}</ref> Mainly grey-white all over, with a grey hindneck crest in breeding season, pinkish rump and spotted bill pouch.<ref name=brazil09/>
|Monotypic. Southern Asia from southern Pakistan across India east to Indonesia;<ref name=sibleymonroe/> extinct in the Philippines and possibly eastern China.<ref name=brazil09/> Status: near threatened.<ref name=iucnphillippenis/>
|}