Editing Pelican (section)

==== 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" />