Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Galapagos Islands

Off The Coast Of Ecuador

South America

 

This pelican was relaxing on a lava boulder with one foot curled under its body. The beak is rested on his back. The sunlight is falling on his feathers.

 

The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a North American bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae. It is one of three pelican species found in the Americas and one of only two that feed by diving in water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands.

 

The brown pelican mainly feeds on fish, but occasionally eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. It nests in colonies in secluded areas, often on islands, vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and mangroves.

 

The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. – Wikipedia

 

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