Great White Pelican

Overview

The Great White Pelican is a huge waterbird of Africa and Eurasia, similar in general pattern to the American White Pelican but with a distinctive soft pinkish tinge to the plumage and a small tuft of nape feathers forming a short crest. Pink facial skin and legs during the breeding season add further color to this large bird.

It is a highly social species, often seen in large flocks that cooperatively herd fish while swimming, and breeds in dense colonies on islands and wetland sites.

Great White Pelican feathers are large, given the bird's great size, and mostly white with subtle pink tones.

• Body feathers: White overall, often with a faint pinkish tinge, particularly noticeable during the breeding season.
• Flight feathers: Primaries and secondaries are black, contrasting with the pale body plumage.
• Nape feathers: A small tuft of elongated feathers forms a short, loose crest on the back of the head, absent in the American White Pelican.
• Compared to American White Pelican: The pinkish tinge and nape crest tuft distinguish Great White Pelican feathers from the more purely white plumage of its American counterpart.

Adults are white overall with a soft pinkish tinge, black primaries and secondaries, and a short, loose crest of feathers on the nape. Bare facial skin and legs turn pink during the breeding season. Sexes look alike. Juveniles are grayish-brown overall, gradually acquiring white adult plumage over a few years. Molt is completed after breeding, with the pink breeding tones and nape crest most developed just before and during the nesting period.

Great White Pelicans breed in colonies on islands and wetland sites across a broad range spanning Africa, southeastern Europe, and parts of Asia, favoring large freshwater lakes, marshes, and coastal lagoons. Populations in some regions are resident while others migrate seasonally between breeding and wintering wetlands, generally avoiding open ocean in favor of large inland and coastal water bodies.

This pelican feeds cooperatively while swimming, often forming coordinated groups that herd schooling fish into shallow water before scooping them up in the throat pouch, similar to the American White Pelican's technique. It breeds in large, dense colonies, building a simple ground nest, and typically raises one or two chicks. Calls are low grunting notes given mainly at breeding colonies, with the species largely silent outside the nesting season.