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Brown­Pelicans

Yaritza Acosta

Natural History

In the United States, there are three subspecies of the Brown Pelican occidentalis group. Pelecanus
occidentalis occidentalis is found throughout the Gulf Coast, from Mexico to both coasts of Florida.
Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis breeds from Maryland, around Florida and through the Gulf
Coast to Central America. Pelecanus occidentalis californicus ranges from British Columbia down
the Pacific coast, typically breeding from California into Mexico (Shields 2014).
Sexual maturity is reached between 3 and 5 years of age. Pelicans nest colonially, on the ground
or in trees such as mangroves. The male selects the site and after attracting the female, the male
begins gathering sticks, which the female arranges. Ground‐nesting sites may be no more than a
depression in the ground.
A normal clutch size is three eggs laid over a period of several days, normally with a 2‐day inter-
val between eggs; both parents incubate the eggs and share parenting duties. The incubation period
varies by subspecies and region but appears to be between 30 and 35 days. Hatchlings are com-
pletely altricial. A high mortality rate may be observed with two or more chicks, especially if food
is scarce. There is a higher survivability rate for single chicks than for two chicks, due to less com-
petition for food presented by the parents (Shields 2014).

­ Criteria­for Intervention

Reasons for human intervention are most likely to involve a mass event caused by disruption or
devastation to a rookery site, such as an oil spill or hurricane. Although it is unusual for members
of the public to find and bring baby pelicans to a wildlife rehabilitation facility, as humans con-
tinue to encroach on coastal areas the chance increases. Pelicans prefer to nest on small coastal
islands or on dredge islands in intracoastal waterways, many of which are easily accessible to rec-
reational boaters and fishermen.
It is always in the best interests of the chick to be raised by its own parents or at a wildlife facility
where foster parents are available. Not all eventualities can be dealt with in this chapter, and it is
cruel and inappropriate (and illegal) for wild birds to be raised incorrectly or by inexperienced
individuals and then released into the wild. Young pelicans easily imprint and habituate to people;
hence, every effort must be made to keep wild pelicans wild.

Hand-Rearing Birds, Second Edition. Edited by Rebecca S. Duerr and Laurie J. Gage.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.