Great White Pelican

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Great White Pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus -Lake Nakuru, Kenya-8.jpg

Great White Pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus )

Systematics
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
Genre : Pelicans ( pelecanus )
Type : Great White Pelican
Scientific name
Pelecanus onocrotalus
Linnaeus , 1758
Flying Great White Pelicans. The wingspan is around three meters.
Swimming Great White Pelicans in Namibia . In front a pair with the pink facial coloration typical outside the breeding season, behind a pair with the frontal cusps that are pronounced at the beginning of the breeding season - in the male (front) the facial skin is light yellow, in the female (back) it is more orange. Females have shorter beaks overall and are smaller.
Immature Great White Pelican, probably in the second calendar year
Great White Pelican in flight
Cluster of great white pelicans at Lake Chamo in Ethiopia. One of the largest colonies is located on Lake Shala, about 250 km further north, with about 10,000 breeding pairs.
The northern populations migrate southwest and winter in Africa. Large numbers of migrating great white pelicans can then be found in Israel, for example, in spring and autumn.

The White Pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus ) is a species of bird from the family of pelicans . Since the species breeds in large colonies on lakes and rivers or coastal islands and lagoons, the breeding occurrences are very dispersed. They range from Southeastern Europe through Asia Minor to Central Asia and the western edge of the Indian subcontinent as well as all of Sub-Saharan Africa . Outside of the breeding season, the species is much more widespread. The northern populations overwinter mainly in Africa, the Asiatic partly also in Pakistan. In Africa the species is standing or line bird .

description

The great white pelican is one of the largest species in the genus and is noticeably larger than a mute swan . The wingspan is between 226 and 360 cm. Males reach a body length of 175 cm and a weight of 9 to 15 kg. Females are on average 148 cm long and 5.4 to 9 kg in weight and are proportionally shorter-billed than males.

The beak of adult birds, which measures between 347 and 471 mm in males and between 289 and 400 mm in females, is bluish gray at the ridge and base. The upper beak sides are coarsely horny, scaly and irregularly reddish-blue-gray, the edges often intensely reddish in color. The remaining parts are yellow; the nail is red. The throat pouch is pale yellow to yolk yellow and before the breeding season it is intensely chrome yellow to reddish yellow due to protruding veins . Outside the breeding season, the bare area around the eye is whitish, pink or flesh-colored. It gives the species a "clown-like" face. At the beginning of the breeding season a frontal hump forms. The surrounding skin is then light yellow in males and light orange in females. The iris is red to dark brown.

The plumage is predominantly white and, when freshly molted, shows a pink tinge in October, which then usually subsides. At the beginning of the breeding season, the crown feathers are elongated to form a crest up to 14 cm long, which is shorter in females. Their base is wedge-shaped on the forehead towards the beak, the eye area is featherless. The feathers on the goiter are pointed and stiffened. The front of the neck is often yellowish in the breeding season, more rarely to rust-red. The hand wings are black-brown with a white shaft at the base and sometimes a light-colored tip and a narrow, light-colored hem. The outer and middle arm wings are ash gray with a blackish inner flag and a wide white outer flag. The inner arm wings are white with a narrow black border. Alula and large palm coverts are black, the remaining upper wing coverts, the lower wing coverts, umbrella and control feathers are white.

Legs and feet are pale flesh-colored to bright pink, but during the breeding season they are flesh-colored yellow to orange with a pink to crimson tinge, especially on the barrel and back of the toes.

Birds in their youthful plumage are predominantly brown in color. The beak, throat pouch and bare eye area are horn-colored gray to dark gray. The upper side is predominantly colored matt brown. The underside is lighter and lighter towards the middle of the abdomen and the under tail-coverts. Especially the rear neck and the upper wing-coverts are dark earth-brown. Shoulder and wing top feathers are partly lighter in color. Large arm covers and umbrella feathers can have a silvery sheen. The wings are black-brown. The upper tail-coverts and control feathers are gray-brown to blackish, can have a silvery sheen and some show a light-colored border. The under wing coverts are mostly dirty white with a dark band that runs centrally over the wing. Legs and feet are dirty gray to grayish horn-colored.

In the first annual dress - especially on the top - a lot of white feathers come through. Later, the birds resemble adult individuals outside of the breeding season, but still have brown upper wing-coverts with light-colored tips. The bare skin areas gradually approach the adult dress - initially visible on the throat pouch and eye area. Birds in their second year dress often only lack the elongated forelock, the stiffened feathers on the goiter and the pink touch.

voice

Since pelicans have no vocal head muscles , their vocal repertoire is limited to grunting-moaning sounds (audio sample). Outside of the breeding colony these are seldom heard, but in colonies it is very loud. Here courtship and aggression sounds are uttered by adult birds, begging calls are uttered by young birds, which are higher than the sounds of adult birds and sound roughly like rö-rö . (Audio sample, soundscape in the background ).

Distribution and existence

Distribution areas of the great white pelican
(green = breeding areas, dark green = year-round occurrence, blue = wintering areas)
The largest European breeding population is in the Danube Delta
Great white pelicans often breed on shallow coastal or river islands like here in the Djoudj National Park in Senegal
In Africa, the species also breeds on island mountains far from the feeding ground, such as in the Mandara Mountains in northern Cameroon
Two great white pelicans on Lake Nakuru

Since the Great White Pelican usually only breeds in very large colonies, the breeding occurrences are very dispersed. The distribution ranges on the one hand from Southeast Europe through Asia Minor and Central Asia to the Indian state of Gujarat . The Palearctic population is estimated at 7,345 to 10,500 breeding pairs (BP) in about 25 colonies. However, the majority of the population is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where the mean population size is estimated to be up to 75,000 BP. The species is not threatened worldwide, but the population in the Palearctic has decreased dramatically over the past century.

Eurasia

In Europe, the Great White Pelican breeds in large numbers in the Danube Delta in Romania . In 2009 there were two large colonies with a total of 4100 to 4480 BP. In Greece there is a colony on the Little Prespa Lake where between 2000 and 2010 between 258 and 806 BP were counted. Breeding occurrences in Hungary, Bulgaria and various Balkan countries have died out due to drainage or other habitat changes.

In Ukraine, there are about 210 BP (2012) in Tendra Bay (Orlov Island, Potiewski Island) near the Dnieper estuary into the Black Sea . In Russia there are or have been breeding occurrences on the islands in Lake Manych-Gudilo (1997: 50–60 BP).

Kazakhstan is home to about eight to nine colonies: On Lake Balkhash about 1,362 individuals breed on the river delta of the Ili , more possibly on the lake alakol . In 2007, 473 brooding individuals were found on Turgai . There are 160–250 BP in the Naurzum Nature Reserve , 144–350 BP on Lake Sarykopa and 150-320 individuals on Lake Tengiz . In 1985 there were 2 colonies with 300 BP at Lake Saissan . Between 110 and 1000 pairs breed on Lake Tschuschkakol , 150-300 individuals on the Little Aral Sea . In Uzbekistan , 80–300 adult individuals (2005) were found at Lake Zholdyrbas during the breeding season , in Turkmenistan 105–430 BP were counted at Lake Sarykamysh in the late 1980s .

In Turkey there were 8 to 13 colonies until the 1960s, most of which fell victim to drainage projects. In 1996 100 BP brooded on Seyfe Gölü and in 1998 2-3 BP brooded on Tuz Gölü . For a long time, the only remaining colony with 50 BP was located on Lake Karzachi on the border with Georgia . In 2011, however, a brood occurrence at the Yedikır reservoir and possibly another at the boar Gölü became known.

In Iran there is a colony on Lake Urmia , in 1977 there were 1000–1600 BP there. There may be other Great Colonies in Iraq. And in Pakistan the inventory may be as high as 20,000 BP.

Africa

In Africa, the colonies with the highest numbers, with around 40,000 breeding pairs (BP), are on Lake Rukwasee in Tanzania and with around 10,000 BP on Lake Shala in Ethiopia . In Kenya breed numerous white pelicans on the rock islands of Elmenteitasees but looking nearby for food intake Nakuru on. In July 1990 there were 27,540 BP. Other colonies are located on Lake Ngami (2000 BP) or in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans (1500 BP) in Botswana . In the Etosha Pan in Namibia, too, Great White Pelicans breed in years with heavy rainfall.

The West African population is estimated at 50,000 BP, of which 11,000–17,000 BP are in Mauritania and Senegal . The species breeds on the Mauritanian Atlantic coast with around 2100 BP (1987) in Aftout es Sâheli and with around 3080 BP in the Banc d'Arguin National Park . In Senegal, 8,500 BP were breeding in Djoudj National Park in 1982 ; there are about 6000 BP in the Kalissaye Avifaunal Reserve . Furthermore, the species breeds in some places on cliffs inland. So in Chad , at Wase Rock in Nigeria or in the area of ​​the Mandara Mountains in northern Cameroon .

In South Africa , the stocks increased significantly towards the end of the 20th century. On Lake St. Lucia breed 500-1500 pairs, the Western Cape 500 BP on Dassen Iceland and probably more on Dyer Iceland and Iceland Seal in the False Bay . The species also breeds in small numbers in Walvis Bay in Namibia.

hikes

While the African and South Asian breeding populations are standing or moored birds , the northern populations of the Palearctic regularly migrate southwest. The breeding birds of the Danube Delta leave the region between September and early November and return from late March and April.

Like all thermal sailors, the great white pelicans avoid crossing large bodies of water and mainly travel over land masses and straits. Many Eurasian birds therefore migrate via Turkey and the Middle East to Africa, where huge numbers wintered in the Nile Delta at the beginning of the 20th century . Due to increasing cultivation, drainage and industrialization, this region is now almost unsuitable as a winter quarter. The birds now continue to migrate to regions further south. It is not known exactly where the winter quarters are. However, they are suspected to be in the area of ​​the Sudd in South Sudan.

On the train, at the large, traditional resting places and passages, numbers of migrants are often found that clearly exceed the Palearctic breeding population. In the 1980s, between 10,000 and over 26,000 were counted annually on the autumn migration to Lake Burgas , at least 75,000 on the migration through Israel and almost 40,000 on the 2008 spring migration to the Sea of ​​Marmara . It is therefore assumed that large numbers of non-breeders also spend the summer in the Palearctic, as the conditions in the African winter quarters are then very unfavorable.

In most of the countries of the Palearctic, the species was found to be a stray visitor. Many of the observations involved refugees from captivity, but inflows correlate significantly with climatic conditions and years with poor breeding success.

habitat

The great white pelican can be found in the Palearctic around fresh or brackish water lakes , river deltas , lagoons and in swamps. For breeding, vegetation-rich sections of water, such as extensive reed beds, are required; the foraging, however, takes place on large, open water areas with warm, shallow areas. In contrast to the Dalmatian pelican , extensive, flat swamps are preferred and mountain lakes are avoided. The very large colonies are mainly found at the mouths of large rivers such as the Danube Delta . Outside the breeding season, the species can also be found in quiet areas of the seashore.

In Africa, the great white pelican occurs in alkaline and freshwater lakes, but also breeds on sea islands and cliffs. In the area of ​​the Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, for example, it colonizes flat coastal islands, in West Africa island mountains , which can also be very far away from the feeding waters. In some cases, daily shuttle flights of several hundred kilometers are accepted, for example between the breeding grounds in Mogode in northern Cameroon and Lake Chad, which is almost 300 km away .

The distribution is mostly limited to the levels. The species can also be found locally at higher altitudes, for example up to an altitude of 1372 m in Nepal .

nutrition

The diet consists mainly of fish, the weight of which is usually between 300 and 600 g. The daily food requirement is on average between 900 and 1200 g. In Europe, carp are preferred. In China , mullets and in India mother-of-pearl ( Aphanius dispar ) have been identified as food. In Africa the species mainly feeds on cichlids of the genera Tilapia and Haplochromis . At Walvis Bay in Namibia, it was observed that young great white pelicans that were not yet fully fledged were eating eggs and young birds of the Cape shark.

Typically, the Great White Pelicans fish in groups, using the large beak with the throat pouch like a landing net. Occasionally, however, the species can also be found individually when foraging for food.

Reproduction

Great white pelican eggs

Great white pelicans become sexually mature at the age of three to four years. The species is likely to have a monogamous seasonal marriage. The breeding season is in the temperate zone in spring. In Southeastern Europe full clutches can be found between mid-April and the end of June. In India, the breeding season begins between February and April. Breeding can take place all year round in Africa.

Great white pelicans breed in large colonies that can contain hundreds or even thousands of pairs. They nest on the ground. Depending on the breeding site, the nest can be in the reed bed, on floating carpets of plants, on sand, gravel or rocks. Often it consists only of a hollow or the bare ground, sometimes of a few twigs or reeds and sometimes it can be a high nest of parts of plants. The clutch comprises two, more rarely one or three long oval eggs, which are covered by a yellowish-white lime layer and measure an average of 94 × 59 mm. They are incubated by both parents for between 29 and 36 days.

The boys are huddled and fed by both partners . At the beginning the food is choked on the ground as a pre-digested pulp, later the young are fetched from the throats of the adult birds. In begging behavior, the red nail on the beak plays a role in the orientation of the nestlings. At the age of 20 to 25 days, the young gather in small groups, in which the parents probably not only feed their own young. The crowding in the group probably serves to protect against temperature extremes. The young can fledge between 65 and 75 days of age. The average breeding success is around 0.64 young per breeding attempt.

Fishermen on the lower Indus in Pakistan with the bellows of pelicans (above pink, below Dalmatian pelican), which they use to capture other water birds.
Great White Pelicans as a tourist attraction in Walvis Bay , Namibia

Pelican and human

Pelicans have been used in a number of ways. In Southeastern Europe, for example, the skin of the throat pouches was used to make tobacco pouches and cases. In India, the fat of young birds was used as an oil against rheumatism. In Pakistan, fishermen use pelican skins to make decoys or headgear, under which they hide and approach other waterfowl, pull them underwater by their legs and then eat or sell them.

literature

  • Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim , KM Bauer : Handbook of the birds of Central Europe. Volume 1: Gaviiformes - Phoenicopteriformes. AULA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1993/2001 (first edition 1966), ISBN 3-923527-00-4 , pp. 281-287.
  • Andrew Elliott, David Christie , Francesc Jutglar, Arnau Bonan, Ernest FJ Garcia, Guy M. Kirwan : Great White Pelican (Peleacanus onocrotalus) . In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2015.
  • Giorgos Catsadorakis, Ortaç Onmuş, Sebastian Bugariu, Orhan Gül, Dionyssia Hatzilacou, Ohad Hatzofe, Myrsini Malakou, Tanyo Michev, Theodoros Naziridis, Haris Nikolaou, Antonina Rudenko, Darko Saveljic, Spase Shumka, J. Crivelli, Mehmet status the Dalmatian pelican and the great white pelican populations of the Black Sea / Mediterranean flyway. In: Endangered Species Research. Vol. 27, 2015, pp. 119–130, doi: 10.3354 / esr00659 , (PDF)
  • LH Brown , Emil K. Urban : The Breeding Biology of the Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus roseus at Lake Shala, Ethiopia. In: Ibis. Volume 111, Issue 2, April 1969, pp. 199-237, doi: 10.1111 / j.1474-919X.1969.tb02527.x

Web links

Commons : Great White Pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Great White Pelican  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Single receipts

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Elliott et al. (2015), section “Descriptive Notes”, see literature
  2. ↑ Piotr Ćwiertnia, Adam Wysocki, Kamila Kamińska, Zbigniew Kwieciński, Honorata Kwiecińska: Sexing of eastern white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) based on biometric measurements. Poznań Zoo (PDF)
  3. ↑ a b c Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 282, see literature
  4. ↑ L. Svensson, PJ Grant, K. Mularney, D. Zetterström: Der Kosmos Vogelführer: All kinds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12384-3 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Brown / Urban (1969), see literature
  6. ↑ Species Fact Sheet , Avian Scientific Advisory Group, accessed January 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ a b c Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 281f, see literature
  8. ↑ Andrew Elliot, Arnau Bonan: Pelicans. Voice section . In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016.
  9. ↑ 278381-Pelecanus onocrotalus . xeno-canto.org. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  10. ↑ Elliott et al. (2015), section “Voice”, see literature
  11. ↑ Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 283, see literature
  12. ↑ 133239-Pelecanus onocrotalus . xeno-canto.org. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  13. ↑ Richard Grimmett, arol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp: Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4081-2763-6 , p. 90.
  14. ↑ a b c d e f Elliott et al. (2015), section “Status and conservation”, see literature
  15. ↑ a b c d e f Catsadorakis et al. (2015), p. 122, see literature
  16. ^ Danube Delta , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Yagorlyts'ka and Tendrivs'ka Bays , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  18. ^ Islands in the western part of Lake Manych-Gudilo , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  19. ^ Ili River Delta , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ Irgiz-Turgay Lakes , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  21. ↑ Naurzum State Nature Reserve , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  22. ↑ Sarykopa Lake system , BirdLife Site Fact Sheet, accessed on 11 January 2016th
  23. ↑ Teniz-Karakamys Lakes , BirdLife Site Fact Sheet, accessed on 11 January 2016th
  24. ^ Birds of Kazakhstan. Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) , accessed January 12, 2016.
  25. ↑ Shoshkaly Lake System , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  26. ↑ Lesser Aral Sea , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  27. ↑ Zholdyrbas Lake , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  28. ↑ Sarygamysh , BirdLife Site Fact Sheet, accessed on 11 January 2016th
  29. ^ Seyfe Lake , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  30. ^ Tuz Lake , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  31. ↑ Aktaş Lake , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  32. ↑ Lake Uromiyeh , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  33. ↑ Lake Nakuru National Park , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  34. ↑ Lake Ngami , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  35. ↑ Makgadikgadi Pans , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  36. ↑ Etosha National Park , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  37. ↑ Aftout es Sâheli , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  38. ^ Banc d'Arguin , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  39. ↑ Djoudj wetlands , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  40. ↑ Kalissaye Avifaunal Reserve , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  41. ↑ Lake St Lucia and Mkuze Swamps , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 11, 2016.
  42. ^ Dassen Island , Birdlife South Africa, accessed January 13, 2016.
  43. ↑ Walvis Bay , BirdLife Site Factsheet, accessed January 13, 2016.
  44. ↑ a b c d Elliott et al. (2015), section “Movements”, see literature
  45. ^ A b Andrew Elliot, Arnau Bonan: Pelicans. Movements section . In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016.
  46. ↑ F. Jiguet, A. Doxa, A. Robert: The origin of out-of-range pelicans in Europe: wild bird dispersal or zoo escapes? In: Ibis. Volume 150, Issue 3, July 2008, pp. 606–618, doi: 10.1111 / j.1474-919X.2008.00830.x
  47. ↑ a b c Elliott et al. (2015), section “Habitat”, see literature
  48. ↑ a b Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 285, see literature
  49. ↑ a b Elliott et al. (2015), section “Food and feeding”, see literature
  50. ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel, Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds of Central Europe. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2012, ISBN 978-3-89104-758-3 , p. 227 f.
  51. ↑ a b c d Elliott et al. (2015), section “Movements”, see literature
  52. ↑ a b c d e Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 285f, see literature
  53. ↑ Andrew Elliot, Arnau Bonan: Pelicans. Section Relationship with Man. In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016.