Talking Pelican Postcard

This Pelican was photographed sitting on a pine branch up in the treetops at North Jetty in Nokomis, Florida. The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a small pelican found in the Americas. It is one of the best known and most prominent birds found in the coastal areas of the southern and western United States. The Brown Pelican is only one of the two pelican species which feeds by diving into the water. The Brown Pelican the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 42–54 inches long, weighs from 6 to 12 lb and has a wingspan from 6 to 8 ft. Like all pelicans, this species has a very large bill, 11 to 13.7 inches long, with a gular pouch on the bottom for draining water when it scoops out prey.