# Brown Pelican

Scientific name: Pelecanus occidentalis

Bird group: [pelican](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/pelican)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/152/Brown-Pelican

## Identification

The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands. The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower fore neck has a pale yellowish patch. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the nonbreeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre-tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray.


## Distribution and habitat

The Brown Pelican occurs through coastal areas of southern 
North America, Central America, 
and northern South America 
including the West Indies. It 
is a common resident seabird 
in Puerto Rico (Oberle 2018, 
Raffaele 1989a), with one of 
the largest breeding colonies in 
Vieques (Gemmill 2015), and two 
other important colonies used to 
monitor the breeding population: 
Cayo Don Luis and Cayo Fríos in 
the municipality of Lajas (USFWS 
2009a). The population in Puerto 
Rico experiences major die-
offs and low fl edging success, 
mainly of juvenile individuals 
(Oberle 2018). This species inhabits shallow inshore waters, 
estuaries, and bays, avoiding the 
open sea including lagoons and 
coastal areas in general, but is 
also present in inland freshwater 
reservoirs (BirdLife International 2018, Raffaele and others 1998). The atlas fieldwork yielded a 
total of 281 records within 144 
hexagons or 30 percent of the 
479 total hexagons (see map). 
Of the 144 hexagons where this 
species was found, breeding 
met the atlas definition of 
confirmed in 6 percent (eight) 
of the hexagons and possible 
in 5 percent (seven), while the 
species was observed in 90 
percent (129) of the hexagons 
but without evidence of breeding 
(see map). Brown Pelican distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      143Brown Pelican/Pelícano Pardo

## Breeding

The Brown Pelican nests in colonies, on trees, sometimes 
on cliffs, near or on the ground 
mostly in offshore cays (BirdLife 
International 2018). Breeding 
is not associated with any 
season of the year, according 
to previously published reports 
(Raffaele and others 1998). 
Atlas results indicate that most 
of the breeding activity takes 
place from March to July, with a 
peak in June (see chart). Results 
show that this species is mostly 
associated with the subtropical 
moist and subtropical dry forest 
life zones (53 and 47 percent of 
the hexagons, respectively) (see 
table and map).

## Conservation

Overall, Brown Pelican populations are suspected to 
be increasing throughout the 
species distribution, and it is 
classified as a species of least 
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife 
International 2018). The Brown 
Pelican was on the Endangered 
Species List for many years due 
to several threats that drastically 
affected some populations, 
including organochlorine 
pesticides such as dichloro-
diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT); 
coastal development; disturbance 
of nesting colonies by fishermen, 
boaters, and other recreationists; 
loss and disturbance of roosts; 
hurricanes; declines in prey fish; and oil spills (USFWS 
2009b). In 2009, the species was 
delisted and is now considered 
a recovered species in Puerto 
Rico (USFWS 2009b) but is still 
classified as locally endangered 
and protected by Commonwealth 
laws in Puerto Rico (PRDNER 
2016). In Puerto Rico, the Brown 
Pelican has a protected habitat 
in land of 9 percent or 33 km2 of the total area covered by 
the hexagons where evidence 
of breeding was found for this 
species (~359 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_152_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_152_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.