Pelicans, Cormorants and Darters - Australian Pelican
| More pictures | Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) |  |
Australian Pelican
(Pelecanus conspicillatus)
| Length: | 1.8m |
| Wingspan: | 2.5m |
| Colours: | White, black and pink |
Description: A very large bird with long neck. Mainly white with black wing tips and a darker streak down the back of the neck. Brown eyes with a yellow eye-ring. They have the longest beak of any bird in the world at about 50cm. The beak is pink and the lower half is a delicate pouch used for fishing. They have short grey legs with large webbed feet.
Habitat: Coastal and Freshwater or estuarine wetlands and waterways including rivers, canals, lakes, swamps, coastal islands and shores. Pretty much anywhere with fish in shallow water.
Region: Throughout Australia, they're also reported in Papua New Guinea, western Indonesia and New Zealand and some western Pacific islands.
Feeding: Pelicans mainly eat fish, but are opportunistic feeders and non fussy eaters. They fish using the pouch on their bill as a net, often working in groups to concentrate the fish into a smaller area by using their bill and wings to herd the fish. Once they've caught their food they will squeeze the water out of the pouch using their belly then manipulate their catch usually so it goes down head first. They then tilt their head back and the food is swallowed
