American White Pelican
This picture was taken at the St. Louis Zoo as the American White Pelican swam peacefully around the pond. I am tickled to say, it won a Honorable Mention in one of the St. Louis Photo Club competitions.
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While fishing the American White Pelican often fishes in a "U" shape group moving fish into position for easy capture. They consume up to 4 pounds of fish daily. The elastic expandable throat sac of the American White Pelican can hold up to 3 gallons of water. Once a fish is caught in the pouch all excess water is drained by tilting the bill downward. The fish is then swallowed whole. |
| Their black tipped nine to ten foot wing span carries them high into the air helping them take advantage of thermals. |  |
| The white pelican is one of the largest birds in North America. Their bill length is approximately 13 to 14.5 inches in the male and about 2 inches shorter on females. | |
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Which of these two birds have mated. What you say? "That is a stupid question and unanswerable." Not so. One third the way up their bill they develop a horizontal horn, seen here on the setting bird. This horn is shed after mating. So the answer to the question is the standing bird has mated. |
