Dalmation Pelican Pelecanus crispus - Big Bird
With its scruffy crest and long bill this Dalmation Pelican put me in mind of "Big Bird" in Sesame Street. It Looks as if it is stifling a laugh.
This is a captive bird I photographed at Arundel last year.
Dalmation Pelican are one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Former inhabitant of Britain's wetlands they haven't been wild in the UK since medieval times when people started to drain swamps, bogs and lakes to farm the land. Its name comes from their supposed place of origin - Dalmatia, Croatia, altough it is found across large parts of Europe and Asia. One arrived in Cornwall in May 2016 and stayed for the year. The bill pouch flashes orange in the breeding season. It has a scruffy crest, wingspan over 3m, They are good swimmers (webbed feet) and splendid fliers.
Thank you all for your kind responses.
Dalmation Pelican Pelecanus crispus - Big Bird
With its scruffy crest and long bill this Dalmation Pelican put me in mind of "Big Bird" in Sesame Street. It Looks as if it is stifling a laugh.
This is a captive bird I photographed at Arundel last year.
Dalmation Pelican are one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Former inhabitant of Britain's wetlands they haven't been wild in the UK since medieval times when people started to drain swamps, bogs and lakes to farm the land. Its name comes from their supposed place of origin - Dalmatia, Croatia, altough it is found across large parts of Europe and Asia. One arrived in Cornwall in May 2016 and stayed for the year. The bill pouch flashes orange in the breeding season. It has a scruffy crest, wingspan over 3m, They are good swimmers (webbed feet) and splendid fliers.
Thank you all for your kind responses.