Gray pelican
| Gray pelican | ||||||||||
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Gray pelican ( Pelecanus philippensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pelecanus philippensis | ||||||||||
| Gmelin , 1789 |
The gray pelican ( Pelecanus philippensis ) lives inland in South and Southeast Asia in natural and man-made wetlands, near fresh waters. It rarely occurs on the coasts of the sea in brackish waters. Originally widespread in South and Southeast Asia, it still lives today in India , Nepal , Sri Lanka , Burma , Thailand , Laos , Cambodia , Vietnam and Indonesia . There are still breeding occurrences in south-east India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. It became extinct in Bangladesh , China and the Philippines . Occurrences in Malaysia are uncertain. In total, there are said to be 7,000 to 10,000 birds in South Asia and 13,000 to 17,000 animals worldwide. The species is considered to be potentially endangered.
Gray pelicans live on fresh and brackish waters. They need tall trees to build nests.
features
Gray pelicans grow to be about 1.27 to 1.52 meters long, making them smaller than most other pelican species. Males grow slightly larger than females. The beak reaches a length of 28.5 to 35.5 cm. Her weight reaches 5 kg. The neck and plumage on the upper side are gray, the underside grayish-white, the under tail-coverts are speckled brownish. Feet and legs are dark brown to blackish. The beak is pink or yellow-orange, the beak sac is reddish. Both can be speckled dark. The bare eye ring is orange or yellowish, the skin directly in front of the eye is bright purple. On the back of the head the pelicans have long brown feathers with white tips. The wings are gray with dark brown or black feather tips. Their underside is white, sometimes shimmering a little pink. The similar-looking Dalmatian Pelican ( P. crispus ) is larger and whiter. After the end of the breeding season, the birds' facial skin loses its color and becomes paler, and the head of feathers also becomes smaller.
Young birds that have just hatched are naked and have light skin. But they quickly grow white down plumage. Later they get brownish plumage.
nutrition
Gray pelicans feed mainly on fish and sometimes supplement their diet with small reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans. The daily requirement should be 1 kg. They usually hunt alone, less often in groups. Overall, however, little research has been done into their diet.
Reproduction
Gray pelicans breed in colonies on palms and other trees. Three to 15 nests were counted on a tree. They often nest with storks , herons or cormorants . The breeding season is from October to March. In the large nests made of twigs, three to four eggs are laid with an interval of 36 to 48 hours, which are incubated for 30 days. The young birds are initially naked, later they grow white down plumage. They fledge at four months of age.
literature
- Josep del Hoyo et al .: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 1992, ISBN 8487334105 .
- Gerald Tuck, Hermann Heinzel : The sea birds of the world. Parey, Hamburg / Berlin 1980, ISBN 3490078187 .
- Martin Woodcock : Collins Handguide to the Birds of the Indian Sub-Continent. Collins, London 1984, ISBN 000219712X .
Web links
- McCubbrey, A. and A. Fraser. 2006. " Pelecanus philippensis ", Animal Diversity Web. Accessed August 13, 2009.
- Pelecanus philippensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 13 August, 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of the Red-tailed Tropicbird (Pelecanus philippensis) in the Internet Bird Collection