Editing Pelican (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Australian pelican in flight.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=Australian pelican gliding|An Australian pelican gliding with its large wings extended]]
Pelicans swim well with their strong legs and their webbed feet. They rub the backs of their heads on their [[preen gland]]s to pick up an oily secretion, which they transfer to their [[plumage]] to waterproof it.<ref name=NSS/> Holding their wings only loosely against their bodies, pelicans float with relatively little of their bodies below the water surface.<ref name="beaman"/> They dissipate excess heat by gular flutter – rippling the skin of the throat and pouch with the bill open to promote [[evaporative cooling]].<ref name=hanzab1a/> They roost and loaf communally on beaches, sandbanks, and in shallow water.<ref name=hanzab1a/>

A fibrous layer deep in the breast muscles can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus, they use [[thermal]]s for soaring to heights of 3,000&nbsp;m (10,000&nbsp;ft) or more,<ref name=ag/> combined both with gliding and with flapping flight in [[V formation]], to commute distances up to {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} to feeding areas.<ref name=NSS/> Pelicans also fly low (or "skim") over stretches of water, using a phenomenon known as [[Ground effect (aircraft)|ground effect]] to reduce [[Lift-induced drag|drag]] and increase [[Lift (force)|lift]]. As the air flows between the wings and the water surface, it is compressed to a higher density and exerts a stronger upward force against the bird above.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/bird-flight-over-water|title=Bird Flight Over Water|last=Thomas|first=Bob|date=2 June 2011|work=College of Social Sciences Intranet|publisher=Center for Environmental Communication, Loyola University|access-date=1 August 2012|location=New Orleans, Louisiana|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412100607/http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/bird-flight-over-water|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hence, substantial energy is saved while flying.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hainsworth|first=F. Reed|year=1988|title=Induced Drag Savings From Ground Effect and Formation Flight in Brown Pelicans|url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/135/1/431|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=135|issue=1 |pages=431–44|doi=10.1242/jeb.135.1.431|doi-access=free|bibcode=1988JExpB.135..431H }}</ref>

Adult pelicans rely on visual displays and behaviour to communicate,<ref name="khanna">{{cite book| last = Khanna| first = D.R.| title = Biology of Birds| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fDblIChi7KwC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2005| publisher = Discovery Publishing House| location = New Delhi, India| isbn = 817141933X| pages = 315–16 }}</ref> particularly using their wings and bills. [[Agonistic behaviour]] consists of thrusting and snapping at opponents with their bills, or lifting and waving their wings in a threatening manner.<ref>{{cite book| last = Terrill| first = Ceiridwen| title = Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking Invasive Species| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-xYRcQjMppwC| year = 2007| publisher = University of Arizona Press| location = Tucson, Arizona| isbn = 978-0816525232| page = 36 }}</ref> Adult pelicans grunt when at the colony, but are generally silent elsewhere or outside breeding season.<ref name="beaman"/><ref name="dunne06">{{cite book| last = Dunne| first = Pete| title = Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion| url = https://archive.org/details/petedunnesessent00dunn| url-access = registration| year = 2006| publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt| location = New York, New York| isbn = 0-618-23648-1| pages = [https://archive.org/details/petedunnesessent00dunn/page/118 118]–19 }}</ref><ref name="sasol">{{cite book| last = Davidson| first = Ian|author2=Sinclair, Ian| title = Southern African Birds: A Photographic Guide| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_6X10o1QrR4C| edition = 2nd| year = 2006| publisher = Struik| location = Cape Town, South Africa| isbn = 1770072446| pages = 22 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Vestjens | first1 = W. J. M. | doi = 10.1071/WR9770037 | title = Breeding Behaviour and Ecology of the Australian Pelican, ''Pelecanus Conspicillatus'', in New South Wales | journal = Wildlife Research | volume = 4 | pages = 37–58 | year = 1977 | issue = 1 | bibcode = 1977WildR...4...37V }}</ref> Conversely, colonies are noisy, as chicks vocalise extensively.<ref name="khanna"/>

===Breeding and lifespan===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) at nest with chicks in Uppalpadu W IMG 2663.jpg
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| caption1 = A [[spot-billed pelican]] nesting colony at [[Uppalapadu]], India: This species builds nests in trees.

| image2 = Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) feeding a juvenile in Garapadu, AP W IMG 5362.jpg
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| caption2 = A spot-billed pelican feeding a juvenile in a nest in a tree at [[Garapadu]], India

| image3 = Pelecanus conspicillatus -Brisbane Water, Broken Bay, New South Wales, Australia -colony-8.jpg
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| caption3 = A nesting colony of [[Australian pelican]]s on the coast of [[New South Wales]], Australia.

| image4 = Pelikane vor Dauphin Island (USA).jpg
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| caption4 = Pelicans at [[Dauphin Island, Alabama]], United States

}}

Pelicans are [[wikt:gregarious|gregarious]] and nest colonially. Pairs are monogamous for a single season, but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area; mates are independent away from the nest. The ground-nesting (white) species have a complex communal courtship involving a group of males chasing a single female in the air, on land, or in the water while pointing, gaping, and thrusting their bills at each other. They can finish the process in a day. The tree-nesting species have a simpler process in which perched males advertise for females.<ref name=NSS/> The location of the breeding colony is constrained by the availability of an ample supply of fish to eat, although pelicans can use thermals to soar and commute for hundreds of kilometres daily to fetch food.<ref name=enc/>

The Australian pelican has two reproductive strategies depending on the local degree of environmental predictability. Colonies of tens or hundreds, rarely thousands, of birds breed regularly on small coastal and subcoastal islands where food is seasonally or permanently available. In arid inland Australia, especially in the endorheic [[Lake Eyre basin]], pelicans breed opportunistically in very large numbers of up to 50,000 pairs, when irregular major floods, which may be many years apart, fill ephemeral [[salt lake]]s and provide large amounts of food for several months before drying out again.<ref name="ag">{{cite web |url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/pelicans-in-australia.htm |title=Mysteries of the Australian pelican |access-date=18 June 2012 |first=Julian |last=Reid |publisher=Australian Geographic |date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614181957/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/pelicans-in-australia.htm |archive-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In all species, copulation takes place at the nest site; it begins shortly after pairing and continues for three to ten days before egg-laying. The male brings the nesting material, in ground-nesting species (which may not build a nest) sometimes in the pouch, and in tree-nesting species crosswise in the bill. The female then heaps the material up to form a simple structure.<ref name=NSS/>

The eggs are oval, white, and coarsely textured.<ref name=hanzab1a/> All species normally lay at least two eggs; the usual clutch size is one to three, rarely up to six.<ref name=hanzab1a/> Both sexes incubate with the eggs on top of or below the feet; they may display when changing shifts. Incubation takes 30–36 days;<ref name=hanzab1a/> hatching success for undisturbed pairs can be as high as 95%, but because of sibling competition or [[siblicide]], in the wild, usually all but one nestling dies within the first few weeks (later in the pink-backed and spot-billed species). Both parents feed their young. Small chicks are fed by [[regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitation]]; after about a week, they are able to put their heads into their parents' pouches and feed themselves.<ref name="DofB">{{cite book| editor = Campbell, Bruce| editor2 =  Lack, Elizabeth| title = A Dictionary of Birds| year = 1985| publisher = Poyser| location = Calton, United Kingdom| isbn = 0-85661-039-9| page = 443 }}</ref> Sometimes before, but especially after being fed the pelican chick may seem to "throw a tantrum" by loudly vocalizing and dragging itself around in a circle by one wing and leg, striking its head on the ground or anything nearby and the tantrums sometimes end in what looks like a [[seizure]] that results in the chick falling briefly unconscious; the reason is not clearly known, but a common belief is that it is to draw attention to itself and away from any siblings who are waiting to be fed.<ref name=NSS/>

Parents of ground-nesting species sometimes drag older young around roughly by the head before feeding them. From about 25 days old,<ref name=hanzab1a/> the young of these species gather in "pods" or "[[Crèche (zoology)|crèches]]" of up to 100 birds in which parents recognise and feed only their own offspring. By six to eight weeks, they wander around, occasionally swimming, and may practise communal feeding.<ref name=NSS/> Young of all species [[fledge]] ten to 12 weeks after hatching. They may remain with their parents afterwards, but are now seldom or never fed. They are mature at three or four years old.<ref name=hanzab1a/> Overall breeding success is highly variable.<ref name=NSS/> Pelicans live for 15 to 25 years in the wild, although one reached an age of 54 years in captivity.<ref name=enc/>

===Feeding===
The diet of pelicans usually consists of fish,<ref name="enc">{{cite book| editor1 = Perrins, Christopher M.| editor2 = Middleton, Alex L.A| title = Encyclopedia of Birds| orig-year = 1985| year = 1998| publisher = Facts on File| location = New York, New York| isbn = 0-8160-1150-8| pages = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofbi00perr/page/53 53–54]| url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofbi00perr/page/53}}</ref> but occasionally [[amphibian]]s, turtles, [[crustacean]]s, [[insect]]s, birds, and mammals are also eaten.<ref name="bbc1">{{cite news|title = Pelican Swallows Pigeon in Park|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6083468.stm|work = BBC News|date = 25 October 2006|access-date =25 October 2006}}</ref><ref name="bbc2">{{cite news|title = Pelican's Pigeon Meal not so Rare|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6098678.stm|work = BBC News|author=Clarke, James |date = 30 October 2006|access-date =5 July 2007}}</ref><ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311">Elliott (1992), p. 295-298, 309–311</ref> The size of the preferred prey fish varies depending on pelican species and location. For example, in Africa, the pink-backed pelican generally takes fish ranging in size from [[Juvenile fish|fry]] up to {{convert|400|g|lb|abbr=on|1}} and the great white pelican prefers somewhat larger fish, up to {{convert|600|g|lb|abbr=on|1}}, but in Europe, the latter species has been recorded taking fish up to {{convert|1850|g|lb|abbr=on|1}}.<ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/> In deep water, white pelicans often fish alone. Nearer the shore, several encircle schools of small fish or form a line to drive them into the shallows, beating their wings on the water surface and then scooping up the prey.<ref name="NationalGeographic">{{cite web |url=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/pelican/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124052443/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/pelican/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 January 2010 |title=Pelican ''Pelecanus''|work=Factsheet |date=11 November 2010|publisher=National Geographic |access-date=28 April 2012}}</ref> Although all pelican species may feed in groups or alone, the Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed pelicans are the only ones to prefer solitary feeding. When fishing in groups, all pelican species have been known to work together to catch their prey, and Dalmatian pelicans may even cooperate with [[great cormorant]]s.<ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/>

[[File:Pelecanus occidentalis -Jamaica -fishing-8.ogv|left|thumb|thumbtime=2.5|alt=Brown pelicans diving|[[Brown pelican]]s diving into the sea to catch fish in [[Jamaica]]]]
Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into the gullet head-first. A gull will sometimes stand on the pelican's head, peck it to distraction, and grab a fish from the open bill.<ref name="HowStuffWorks">{{cite web |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/birds/pelican-bill-vs-belly2.htm |title=Does a Pelican's Bill Hold More Than its Belly Can? |author=Freeman, Shanna|publisher=HowStuffWorks, Inc.|date=24 November 2008 }}</ref> Pelicans in their turn sometimes [[Kleptoparasitism|snatch prey]] from other waterbirds.<ref name=NSS/>

The brown pelican usually plunge-dives head-first for its prey, from a height as great as {{convert|10-20|m|ft|abbr=on}}, especially for [[anchovy|anchovies]] and [[menhaden]].<ref name=usepa1980/><ref name=NationalGeographic/><ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/> The only other pelican to feed using a similar technique is the Peruvian pelican, but its dives are typically from a lower height than the brown pelican.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Jaramillo, A. |year=2009 |title=Humboldt Current seabirding in Chile | journal=Neotropical Birding | volume=4 | pages=27–39}}</ref> The Australian and American white pelicans may feed by low plunge-dives landing feet-first and then scooping up the prey with the beak, but they—as well as the remaining pelican species—primarily feed while swimming on the water.<ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/> Aquatic prey is most commonly taken at or near the water surface.<ref name=mb/> Although principally a fish eater, the Australian pelican is also an eclectic and opportunistic [[scavenger]] and [[carnivore]] that forages in [[landfill]] sites, as well as taking [[carrion]]<ref name="hanzab1b">{{cite book| others = Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J. (Coordinators).| title = Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 1, Ratites to Ducks| year = 1990| publisher = Oxford University Press| location = Melbourne, Victoria| isbn = 0-19-553068-3| page = 742 }}</ref> and "anything from insects and small crustaceans to ducks and small dogs".<ref name=hanzab1b/> Food is not stored in a pelican's throat pouch, contrary to popular folklore.<ref name=enc/>

Pelicans may also eat birds. In southern Africa, eggs and chicks of the [[Cape cormorant]] are an important food source for great white pelicans.<ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/> Several other bird species have been recorded in the diet of this pelican in South Africa, including [[Cape gannet]] chicks on [[Malgas Island]]<ref>{{Cite news|author=Walker, Matt |title=Pelicans Filmed Gobbling Gannets|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8343000/8343195.stm|date=5 November 2009|access-date=5 November 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref> as well as [[crowned cormorant]]s, [[kelp gull]]s, [[greater crested tern]]s, and [[African penguin]]s on [[Dassen Island]] and elsewhere.<ref name="esr">{{cite journal |author1=Mwema, Martin M. |author2=de Ponte Machado, Marta |author3=Ryan, Peter G. |year=2010 |title=Breeding Seabirds at Dassen Island, South Africa: Chances of Surviving Great White Pelican Predation |journal=Endangered Species Research |volume=9 |pages=125–31 |doi=10.3354/esr00243 |url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/9/n009p125.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref> The Australian pelican, which is particularly willing to take a wide range of prey items, has been recorded feeding on young [[Australian white ibis]], and young and adult [[grey teal]]s and [[silver gull]]s.<ref name="Elliott 295–298, 309–311"/><ref name=Smith2008>{{cite journal|author1=Smith, A.C.M. |author2=U. Munro |year=2008 |title=Cannibalism in the Australian Pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') and Australian White Ibis (''Threskiornis molucca'') | journal=Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology | volume=31 | issue=4 | pages=632–635}}</ref> Brown pelicans have been reported preying on young [[common murre]]s in California and the eggs and nestlings of [[cattle egret]]s and nestling [[great egret]]s in [[Baja California]], Mexico.<ref name=Mora1989>{{cite journal | last = Mora | first = Miguel A. | year = 1989 | title = Predation by a Brown Pelican at a Mixed Species Heronry | journal = [[Condor (journal)|Condor]] | volume = 91 | issue = 3 | pages = 742–43 | url = http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v091n03/p0742-p0743.pdf | doi = 10.2307/1368134 | jstor = 1368134 }}</ref> Peruvian pelicans in Chile have been recorded feeding on nestlings of [[imperial shag]]s, juvenile [[Peruvian diving petrel]]s, and [[grey gull]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Cursach, J.A. |author2=J.R. Rau |author3=J. Vilugrón |year=2016 |title=Presence of the Peruvian Pelican Pelicanus thagus in seabird colonies of Chilean Patagonia | journal=Marine Ornithology | volume=44 | pages=27–30}}</ref><ref name=Daigre2012>{{cite journal|author1=Daigre, M. |author2=P. Arce |author3=A. Simeone |year=2012 |title=Fledgling Peruvian Pelicans (''Pelecanus thagus'') attack and consume younger unrelated conspecifics | journal=Wilson Journal of Ornithology | volume=124 |issue=3 | pages=603–607 | doi=10.1676/12-011.1|s2cid=84928683 }}</ref> [[Cannibalism (zoology)|Cannibalism]] of chicks of their own species is known from the Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans.<ref name=Smith2008/><ref name=Mora1989/><ref name=Daigre2012/> Non-native great white pelicans have been observed swallowing [[city pigeon]]s in [[St. James's Park]] in London, England.<ref name="bbc2"/>