Great white pelicans, in spite of their names, are not actually white.
Great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), Toronto Zoo.
The immature adults are mostly white with dark flight feathers while breeding adults are of a light pinkish color. In the wild great white pelican’s range extends from the southern part of Europe and Asia to Africa. Great white pelicans live in swamps where they eat fish and prey on the young of other waterbirds. A pelican can swallow the eggs or the young of other birds whole. The prey is then fed to pelican chicks. While we don’t usually think of pelicans as a predators they certainly eat a lot of other birds.
Further Readings:
Great white pelican on Wikipedia.
Great white pelican videos, photos and facts – Pelecanus onocrotalus on ARKIVE.
Pelecanus onocrotalus on the Animal Diversity Web.
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) on BirdLife International.
Great white pelican on the Toronto Zoo website.
Great white pelican videos, photos and facts – Pelecanus onocrotalus on ARKIVE.
Pelecanus onocrotalus on the Animal Diversity Web.
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) on BirdLife International.
Great white pelican on the Toronto Zoo website.
Last updated: November 10, 2014