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Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis ORDER: PELECANIFORMES FAMILY: PELECANIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Brown Pelican Photo

© Chuq Von Rospach

Unique among the world's seven species of pelicans, the Brown Pelican is found along the ocean shores and on only a few inland lakes in the southwestern U.S. It is the only dark pelican, and also the only one that plunges from the air into the water to catch its food.

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Appearance

Gull-like
Gull-like
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Large, dark waterbird.
  • Long bill with extensible pouch.
  • Legs short.
  • Body large and heavy.
  • Feet webbed.
  • Wings long and broad.
  • Tail short.
  • Soars close to water surface.
  • Dives from the air into the water.

Immature Description

Juvenile dirty brown all over with white belly, pale line along middle of underwing. Bill gray-brown. Yearling similar, but more gray on back and with some white feathers on sides of head and neck. Bill becomes paler and may have some yellow or orange.

Range Map Help

Brown Pelican Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Adult breeding Pacific
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult breeding Pacific
    • Bright red throat pouch
    • White head tinged with yellow
    • Dark nape
    • Slaty gray body with darker belly
    • © Chuq Von Rospach, Dana Point, California, December 2007
  • Adult breeding Atlantic
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult breeding Atlantic
    • Mostly gray body, darker on belly
    • White crown
    • Rich, dark brown nape and neck
    • © Susan E. Newman, Marathon, Florida, December 2011
  • Adult nonbreeding Atlantic
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult nonbreeding Atlantic
    • White head and neck
    • Gray back and wings, dark brown belly
    • Long pale bill, dark brown throat pouch
    • © birdsandwater, Wilmington, North Carolina, December 2008
  • Adult nonbreeding Pacific
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult nonbreeding Pacific
    • Plunge dives into the water to catch fish
    • Darker belly contrasts with paler gray upperparts and wings
    • © Elaine Cundiff, Loreto, Baja California, Mexico, February 2010
  • Juvenile Atlantic
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Juvenile Atlantic
    • Dull gray-brown overall
    • White belly
    • Dull yellow-gray bill
    • © Susan E. Newman, Marathon, Florida, December 2011
  • Juvenile Pacific
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Juvenile Pacific
    • Dark brown overall
    • Bill and throat pouch pale pinkish gray (Atlantic juvenile has darker pouch)
    • © Kevin T. Karlson
  • Adult breeding Atlantic
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult breeding Atlantic
    • Dark brown neck and nape
    • White head, yellowish face
    • Very long, pale bill with dark throat pouch
    • © bird_dog57, Florida, September 2008
  • Adults nonbreeding Pacific
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adults nonbreeding Pacific
    • Long, pale bill, dark throat pouch
    • White head and neck, dark gray-brown belly
    • Long, somewhat ragged looking wings
    • Mottled gray back and wings
    • © birdmandea, Westhaven, Washington, October 2008
  • Juvenile Atlantic
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Juvenile Atlantic
    • Mostly dark brown with white on belly and underwings
    • Bill and throat pouch dark gray
    • © Gary Tyson, Cocoa Beach, Florida, June 2010
  • Adult breeding Atlantic with chicks
    Zoom In

    Brown Pelican

    Adult breeding Atlantic with chicks
    • Chicks solid downy white with pale bills and throat pouches
    • © Michael Fannon, Smith Island, Maryland, August 2009

Similar Species

  • Adult Brown Pelican and Adult American White Pelican
    Zoom In

    American White Pelican

    Adult Brown Pelican and Adult American White Pelican
    • American White Pelican is similar in shape to Brown Pelican, but much larger
    • American White Pelican has solid white body with black wing-tips, and orange bill and throat pouch
    • © lee.karney2, Florida, April 2006
  • Juvenile
    Zoom In

    Double-crested Cormorant

    Juvenile
    • Easily distinguishable from juvenile Brown Pelican
    • Long neck, and short, yellow, hooked bill
    • Longer tail
    • Body mostly black
    • © Byard Miller, Pascagoula, Mississippi, November 2007

Similar Species

  • White Pelican is bright white, with black along the back wing edge, and a bright orange bill and pouch.
  • Gulls have more pointed and narrower wings.
  • Cormorants are darker and have a long thin neck and a long tail.