Editing Pelican (section)

==Symbolism and cultural significance==
The pelican has played a prominent symbolic role in human cultures across time and geography. From ancient Egypt to Indigenous Australia, and from Christian allegory to modern logos  and mascots, pelicans have been interpreted as emblems of protection, sacrifice, care, and transformation.<ref name="RS" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name="OED" /> Their distinctive appearance and behaviors have inspired myths, religious symbolism, heraldic devices, institutional emblems, and even the naming of other animal species.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Hannah M. |last2=Scharff |first2=Nikolaj |date=2018-01-11 |title=A review of the Madagascan pelican spiders of the genera Eriauchenius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1881 and Madagascarchaea gen. n. (Araneae, Archaeidae) |journal=ZooKeys |language=en |issue=727 |pages=1–96 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.727.20222 |doi-access=free |issn=1313-2970 |pmc=5799789 |pmid=29416388|bibcode=2018ZooK..727....1W }}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name="NSS" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=The Brand Pelikan |url=https://www.pelikan.com/int/brand/the-brand-pelikan.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Pelikan |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=":8" /> This section explores the rich and varied ways in which pelicans have been woven into spiritual, national, artistic, and popular narratives around the world.[[File:Breeding pelicans. Wall fragment from the Sun Temple of Nyuserre Ini at Abu Gurob, Egypt. c. 2430 BCE. Neues Museum, Berlin.jpg|thumb|Breeding pelicans. Wall fragment from the [[Sun Temple of Userkaf|Sun Temple of Nyuserre Ini]] at Abu Gurob, Egypt. {{circa|2430 BCE}}. Neues Museum, Berlin]]

=== Ancient and indigenous beliefs ===
The pelican (''[[henet]]'' in [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]) was associated in [[Ancient Egypt]] with death and the [[afterlife]]. It was depicted in art on the walls of tombs, and figured in [[funeral|funerary]] texts, as a protective symbol against snakes. ''Henet'' was also referred to in the [[Pyramid Texts]] as the "mother of the king" and thus seen as a goddess. References in nonroyal funerary [[papyrus|papyri]] show that the pelican was believed to possess the ability to prophesy safe passage in the [[underworld]] for someone who had died.<ref name=":3">{{cite book| author = Hart, George| title = The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods And Goddesses| series = Routledge Dictionaries| year = 2005| publisher = Routledge| location = Abingdon, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-0-415-34495-1| page = 125}}</ref>

In [[Kashrut|Jewish dietary law]], pelican is not considered kosher (fit for consumption), as it is a type of [[seabird]] and therefore considered an [[unclean animal]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Old Testament (King James Version) – Book of Leviticus (also included in Jewish Torah)|publisher = Bible Gateway|url = https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%2011-11&version=KJV|pages = 11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Old Testament (King James Version) – Book of Deuteronomy (also included in Jewish Torah)|publisher = Bible Gateway|url = https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%2014-14&version=KJV|pages = 14}}</ref>

An [[origin myth]] from the [[Murri people]] of [[Queensland]], cited by [[Andrew Lang]], describes how the [[Australian pelican]] acquired its black and white plumage. The story tells that the pelican was once a black bird. During a flood, he made a canoe to save drowning people. He fell in love with a woman and decided to save her, but she and her friends tricked him and escaped. The pelican consequently began preparing to go to war against them by daubing himself with white clay as war paint. Before he had finished, another pelican, on seeing such a strange [[piebald]] creature, killed him with its beak, and all such pelicans have been black and white ever since.<ref name=":2">{{cite book| author = Lang, Andrew| title = Myth, Ritual & Religion, Volume 1| orig-year=1887|year = 2005| publisher = Cosimo Inc.| location = New York, New York| isbn = 978-1-59605-204-8| pages = 140–41}}</ref>

The [[Moche culture|Moche]] people of ancient [[Peru]] worshipped nature.<ref name=":6">Benson, Elizabeth (1972) ''The Mochica: A Culture of Peru'' New York: Praeger Press.</ref> They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted pelicans in their art.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Berrin, Kathleen |author2=Larco Museum | title = The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Larco Museum| year = 1997| publisher = [[Thames and Hudson]]| location = New York, New York| isbn = 0500018022}}</ref>

===Christian symbolism===
[[File:Bergatreute Pfarrkirche Hochaltar Vogelnest.jpg|thumb|Statue of pelican wounding its breast to feed its chicks]]
[[File:Poster The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Association.JPG|thumb|WWII 1944 Scottish [[blood donation]] poster]]

==== Myth of self-sacrifice ====
The ''[[Physiologus]]'', a didactic Christian text from the 3rd or 4th century, claims that pelicans kill their young when they grow and strike their parents in the face, but then the mother laments them for three days, after which she strikes her side and brings them back to life with her blood.<ref name="RS">{{cite web |last= Stracke |first= Richard |title= The Pelican Symbol |year= 2018 |website= ChristianIconography.Info |url= https://www.christianiconography.info/pelicans.html|access-date=6 June 2022}}</ref> The ''Physiologus'' explains this as mirroring the pain inflicted on God by people's [[idolatry]], and the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|self-sacrifice of Jesus on the cross]] which [[Salvation in Christianity|redeems]] the sinful (see the [[Five Holy Wounds|blood and water]] gushing from the wound in his side).<ref name="RS" /> This text was widely copied, translated, and sometimes closely paraphrased during the [[Middle Ages]], for instance by 13th-century authors [[William the Clerk of Normandy|Guillaume le Clerc]] and [[Bartholomaeus Anglicus]].<ref name="RS" />

The self-sacrificial characterization of the pelican was reinforced by widely read medieval [[bestiary|bestiaries]]. The device of "a pelican in her piety" or "a pelican vulning (from [[Latin]] [[wiktionary:vulnero#Latin|''vulnerō'']], "I wound, I injure, I hurt") herself" was used in religious iconography and [[heraldry]].<ref name="NSS" />

The legends of self-wounding and the provision of blood occur across cultures.<ref name="NSS" /> For example, an Indian folktale depicts a pelican that killed her young by rough treatment, but was then so contrite that she [[Resurrection|resurrected]] them with her own blood.<ref name="NSS" /> Such legends may have arisen because of the impression a pelican sometimes gives that it is stabbing itself with its bill. In reality, it often presses this onto its chest to fully empty the pouch. Another possible derivation is the tendency of the bird to rest with its bill on its breast; the [[Dalmatian pelican]] has a blood-red pouch in the early breeding season and this may have contributed to the myth.<ref name="NSS" />

==== Religious art and literature ====
In a newer, also medieval version of the European myth, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing them with blood by wounding her own breast when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican came to symbolise the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] of Jesus and the [[Eucharist]],<ref>{{cite book |author= Gauding, Madonna |title= The Signs and Symbols Bible: The Definitive Guide to Mysterious Markings |page= 263 |year= 2009 |publisher= Sterling Publishing Company |location= New York, NY |isbn= 9781402770043 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SImTll3uupIC&q=pelican |access-date=20 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="Ox">{{cite encyclopedia |entry= pelican |year= 2005 |editor1=[[F. L. Cross]] |editor2=[[E. A. Livingstone]] |title= The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition= 3rd |via= oxfordreference.com |isbn= 9780199566716 |url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001/acref-9780192802903-e-5250 |access-date=6 June 2022}}</ref> supplementing the image of the [[lamb of God|lamb and the flag]].<ref name="mcgrath">{{cite book |author= McGrath, Alister E. |author-link= Alister McGrath |title= In the beginning: the story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language and a culture |orig-year= 2002 |year= 2012 |publisher= Anchor Books, a Division of Random House, Inc. |location= New York |isbn= 9781444745269 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lkM5AgAAQBAJ&q=pelican |access-date= 20 September 2019}}</ref> This mythical characteristic is referenced in the hymn "[[Adoro te devote]]" ("Humbly We Adore Thee"), where in the penultimate verse, [[Saint Thomas Aquinas]] describes Christ as the loving divine pelican, one drop of whose blood can save the world.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] |title= Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers |year=2007 |isbn= 9781574556452 |page=12 |publisher= USCCB |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yk11nPl7a3oC&q=pelican |access-date=20 September 2019}}</ref> Similarly, the 1678 [[Christian literature#Christian allegory|Christian allegorical novel]] ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' describes how "the pelican pierce[s] her own breast with her bill … to nourish her young ones with her blood, and thereby to show that Christ the blessed so loveth his young, his people, as to save them from death by his blood."<ref>{{cite book |last= Bunyan|first= John|author-link= John Bunyan|date= 1678 |title= The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come |location= New York|publisher= Pocket Books|publication-date= 1957|page= 227}}</ref>

The pelican is featured in many Christian artworks, especially in Europe. For example, the first (1611) edition of the [[King James Version|King James Bible]] contains a depiction of a pelican feeding her young in an oval panel at the bottom of the title page.<ref name="mcgrath" /> The "pelican in her piety" appears in the 1686 [[reredos]] by [[Grinling Gibbons]] in the church of [[St Mary Abchurch]] in the City of London. Earlier medieval examples of the motif appear in painted murals, for example, the mural in the [[parish church]] of [[Belchamp Walter]], Essex (c. 1350).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pelican in its Piety at ''Painted Churches'' online catalog. Anne Marschall |url=http://www.paintedchurch.org/bwaltpel.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412101325/http://www.paintedchurch.org/bwaltpel.htm |archive-date=12 April 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Nicholas Hilliard (called) - Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I - Google Art Project.jpg|alt=Statue of pelican wounding its breast to feed its chicks|left|upright|thumb|Queen Elizabeth I: the ''Pelican Portrait'', by [[Nicholas Hilliard]] (''circa'' 1573), in which [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] wears the medieval symbol of the pelican on her chest]]

==== Elizabeth I and the Church ====
[[Elizabeth I of England]] adopted the symbol, portraying herself as the "mother of the [[Church of England]]". A portrait of her called the [[Pelican Portrait]] was painted around 1573, probably by [[Nicholas Hilliard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/13c-16c/elizabeth.aspx|title='Queen Elizabeth I: The Pelican Portrait', called Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1573)|year=1998|work=Walker Art Gallery|publisher=National Museums Liverpool|access-date=29 July 2012|location=Liverpool, United Kingdom|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416214748/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/13c-16c/elizabeth.aspx|archive-date=16 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Heraldry and symbolism ===
[[File:Coa Hungary Family Kiszely - Benedekfalva.svg|thumb|The arms of the Kiszely family of [[Benedekfalva]] depict a "pelican in her piety" both in the [[crest (heraldry)|crest]] and [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|shield]].|left]]

==== Heraldic imagery ====
Pelicans have featured extensively in heraldry, generally using the Christian symbolism of the pelican as a caring and self-sacrificing parent.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|last1=Saunders|first1=Rev. William|title=The Symbolism of the Pelican|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-symbolism-of-the-pelican.html|website=Arlington Catholic Herald|date=24 November 2003 |language=en-gb}}</ref> Heraldic images featuring a "pelican vulning" refers to a pelican injuring herself, while a "pelican in her piety" refers to a female pelican feeding her young with her own blood.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gough|first1=Henry|title=A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry|date=1894|publisher=J. Parker|page=[https://archive.org/details/aglossarytermsu08parkgoog/page/n496 451]|url=https://archive.org/details/aglossarytermsu08parkgoog|access-date=19 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> The [[King of portugal|King of Portugal]] [[John II of Portugal|John II]] adopted the pelican as is own personal sygil while he was [[Infante]], evoking the Christian symbology to equate the sacrifice of his blood to feed the nation. The pelican as a symbol also became synonymous with the increasing charity efforts of the [[Santa Casa da Misericórdia|Santas Casas da Misericórdia]] during his reign and the reconstruction of the [[Caldas da Rainha|Hospital das Caldas da Rainha]] and the [[Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos]], which were mainly patronaged by his wife [[Eleanor of Viseu|D. Leonor]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Silva |first=Priscilla |url=https://www.historia.uff.br/stricto/teses/Dissert-2007_SILVA_Priscila_Aquino-S.pdf |title=Entre Príncipe Perfeito e Rei Pelicano - os Caminhos da Memória e da propaganda política através do estudo da imagem de D. João II (século XV) |publisher=Universidade Federal Flaminense |year=2007}}</ref>

==== Public symbols ====
The heraldic pelican also ended up as a pub name and image, though sometimes with the image of the ship ''[[Golden Hind]]''.<ref>{{cite book| last = Rothwell| first = David| title = Dictionary of Pub Names| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC| access-date = 29 June 2012| year = 2006| publisher = Wordsworth Editions| location = London, United Kingdom| isbn = 1840222662| page = 295 }}</ref> Sir [[Francis Drake]]'s famous ship was initially called ''Pelican'', and adorned the British [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|halfpenny coin]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Sugden| first = John| title = Sir Francis Drake| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2CEgmN-3VcMC| access-date = 29 June 2012| orig-year = 1990| year = 2012| publisher = Random House| location = London, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-1448129508| page = 99 }}</ref>

===Emblems and logos in institutions===

==== Educational institutions ====
Pelicans are widely used as emblems by educational institutions, especially universities. In Louisiana, the bird adorns the seals of [[Louisiana State University]], [[Tulane University]], [[Louisiana Tech University]], the [[University of Louisiana at Lafayette]], [[Loyola University New Orleans]], [[Southeastern Louisiana University]], and [[Southern University]]. The seal of the [[Packer Collegiate Institute]], depicting a pelican feeding her young, has been in use since 1885.<ref>{{cite web |title=Middle School Handbook |url=https://fc.packer.edu/Websites/MSHandbook/mshb2003.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217094354/https://fc.packer.edu/Websites/MSHandbook/mshb2003.htm |archive-date=17 February 2013 |work=packer.edu}}</ref> The medical faculties of [[Charles University in Prague]] also have a pelican as their emblem, invoking the bird's long-standing association with self-sacrifice in Christian symbolism.<ref>{{cite web |year=2012 |title=First Faculty of Medicine |url=http://www.lf1.cuni.cz/en |access-date=2 May 2012 |publisher=Charles University in Prague |location=Prague, Czech Republic}}</ref>

The image became also linked to the medieval religious feast of [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge each have colleges named for the religious festival nearest the dates of their establishment,<ref name="mcgrath" /><!-- cites previous three sentences--> and both [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]],<ref name="Corpus">{{cite web |year=2011 |title=College Crest |url=http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about-corpus/maps-and-tours/take-a-virtual-tour/199 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719111316/http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about-corpus/maps-and-tours/take-a-virtual-tour/199 |archive-date=19 July 2012 |access-date=2 May 2012 |publisher=Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom}}</ref> and [[Corpus Christi College, Oxford]], feature pelicans on their coats of arms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Corpus Christi |url=http://www.ccc.ox.ac.uk/Home/ |access-date=2 May 2012 |publisher=Corpus Christi College, Oxford}}</ref>

==== Sports teams ====
In sports, the pelican serves as a mascot and logo for various teams and university athletics. It is the mascot of the [[New Orleans Pelicans]] NBA team,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pelicans Home {{!}} Official Site of the New Orleans Pelicans {{!}} Pelicans.com |url=https://www.nba.com/pelicans/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.nba.com |language=en}}</ref> the [[Lahti Pelicans]] [[ice hockey]] team,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lahden Pelicans |url=https://www.pelicans.fi/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=pelicans.fi |language=en}}</ref> Tulane University,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Down Memory Lane {{!}} Tulanian |url=https://tulanian.tulane.edu/fall-2022/down-memory-lane |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=tulanian.tulane.edu |language=en}}</ref> and the [[University of the West Indies]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-07-10 |title=The Pelican (the UWI Mascot) |url=https://www.uwi.edu/alumnionline/pelican-uwi-mascot-and-pelican-award |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Alumni Online Community |language=en}}</ref>

==== Commercial and nonprofit organizations ====
[[File:Gunther Wagner coat of arms.png|thumb|First logo of the German [[stationery]] company, [[Pelikan]]. Inspired by the [[coat of arms]] of its former owner Günther Wagner.<ref name=":7" /> ]]
The pelican has also been used as a corporate emblem. The logo of the renowned German [[stationery]] company [[Pelikan]] was inspired by the family coat of arms of [[Günther Wagner]], the company's former owner.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Brand Pelikan |url=https://www.pelikan.com/int/brand/the-brand-pelikan.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Pelikan |language=en-gb}}</ref> He based the trademark on the heraldic image from his [[coat of arms]], originally depicting a pelican feeding three chicks in a nest—later changed to four after the birth of his fourth child.<ref name=":1" /> While Wagner modified the original shield shape,<ref name=":1" /> the nurturing pelican motif remained central to the brand's visual identity.

Commercially, the pelican has been adopted as a corporate symbol in banking, publishing, and healthcare. A white pelican logo is used by the Portuguese bank [[Montepio Geral]],<ref name="montepio">{{cite web |title=Montepio institutional |url=http://www.montepio.pt/SitePublico/pt_PT/institucional.page? |access-date=29 June 2012 |work=Montepio Bank website |publisher=Montepio |language=pt}}</ref>  The name and image were also employed by [[Pelican Books]], an [[imprint (trade name)|imprint]] of nonfiction titles published by [[Penguin Books]].<ref name="OED" /> In the context of blood donation, where the pelican's symbolism of self-giving is especially resonant, the [[Irish Blood Transfusion Service]] features a pelican in its logo and operated for many years from Pelican House in [[Dublin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Irish Blood Transfusion Service |url=http://www.giveblood.ie/ |access-date=13 June 2012 |publisher=IBTS}}</ref> Similarly, [[Sanquin]], the nonprofit organization responsible for blood supply in the [[Netherlands]], uses a stylized pelican in its logo, continuing this humanitarian association.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Story of Sanquin |url=https://www.sanquin.nl/en/about-sanquin/the-story-of-sanquin |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.sanquin.nl/ |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Flag of Louisiana.svg|thumb|[[Flag of Louisiana|Flag of the US state of Louisiana]]|left]][[File:Albanien2.jpg|thumb|Pelican on the Albanian 1 [[Albanian lek|lek]] coin.|left]]

=== National and regional symbols ===
As a cultural symbol of nations and states, the pelican holds prominent status. The great white pelican is the national bird of [[Romania]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eupedia.com/europe/national_birds_flowers_europe.shtml|title= National Birds|access-date=20 July 2012 |work= List of national birds and flowers or plants of European countries|publisher=Eupedia}}</ref> The brown pelican is the national bird of three Caribbean countries—[[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Barbados]], and [[Sint Maarten]]—and features on their [[coat of arms|coats of arms]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bidc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115&Itemid=96|title=Pelican Craft Centre: Overview|access-date=21 July 2012|publisher=Barbados Investment and Development Corporation|archive-date=10 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810102008/http://bidc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115&Itemid=96|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://stkittsheritage.com/historic_heritage.asp |title=National Symbols: The Coat of Arms |access-date=20 July 2012 |work=Historic Heritage |publisher=St Christopher National Trust |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713073043/http://stkittsheritage.com/historic_heritage.asp |archive-date=13 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The World Factbook 2016–17 |editor=[[United States Central Intelligence Agency]] |year=2016 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Government Printing Office |page=668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfywxU2EnFwC&pg=PA668 |isbn=978-0-16-093327-1}}</ref> A Dalmatian pelican is also depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] of the Albanian 1 [[Albanian lek|lek]] coin, issued in 1996.<ref name="coin">{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Albanian coins in issue in 1995, 1996 and 2000 |url=http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Albanian_coins_of_circulation_43_2.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306234131/http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Albanian_coins_of_circulation_43_2.php |archive-date=6 March 2009 |access-date=23 March 2009 |publisher=Bank of Albania}}</ref> In the United States, it is the state bird of [[Louisiana]], which is colloquially known as the Pelican State; the bird appears on both the [[Flag of Louisiana|state flag]] and [[Seal of Louisiana|state seal]].<ref name="OED" />
 
[[Alcatraz Island]] was given its name by the Spanish because of the large numbers of [[brown pelican]]s nesting there. The word ''alcatraz'' is itself derived from the Arabic ''al-caduos'', a term used for a water-carrying vessel and likened to the pouch of the pelican. The English name [[albatross]] is also derived by corruption of the Spanish word.<ref>{{cite book |author=Skeat, Walter W. |url=https://archive.org/stream/etymologicaldict00skeauoft#page/14/mode/2up |title=An etymological dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1888 |edition=2nd |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Grant |first=Martin L. |year=1951 |title=The Origin of the Common Names of Birds |journal=BIOS |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=116–119}}</ref> 
[[File:Eriauchenius milajaneae (10.3897-zookeys.727.20222) Figure 16.jpg|thumb|''[[Eriauchenus milajaneae]]'', a member of Archaeidae, also known as pelican spiders. A lateral view of a female and its genitalia. ]]

=== Namesakes in nature ===
[[Archaeidae]], a family of spiders, are known as '''pelican spiders''<nowiki/>'.<ref name=":5" /> The name refers to their unusually elongated [[Chelicerae|jaws]] and necks used to catch their prey,  which give them a profile similar to that of a pelican. They are found in [[Madagascar]], [[South Africa]], and [[Australia]].

=== Literature and humor ===
The pelican is the subject of a popular [[Limerick (poetry)|limerick]] originally composed by [[Dixon Lanier Merritt]] in 1910 with several variations by other authors.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Louisiana Conservationist |title=The case of the pelican limerick|url=https://archive.org/stream/louisianaconserv101depa#page/6/mode/1up/| author=Laney, Rex|pages=6–7, 22| year=1958|volume=1| issue=10}}</ref> The original version ran:<ref>{{cite book| last = Knowles| first = Elizabeth| title = The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oGDiVDZ8sjcC| orig-year = 1981| year = 1999| publisher = Oxford University Press| location = Oxford, United Kingdom| isbn = 0198601735| page = 506}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|<poem>
:A wonderful bird is the pelican,
:His bill will hold more than his belican,
:He can take in his beak
:Food enough for a week,
:But I'm damned if I see how the helican.</poem>}}