American white pelican
Bird - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
The American white pelican is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Costa Rica, in winter.
The American white pelican rivals the trumpeter swan, with a similar overall length, as one of the longest birds native to North America. Both very large and plump, it has an overall length of about 130–180 cm, courtesy of the huge beak which measures 290–390 mm in males and 260–360 mm in females. It has a wingspan of about 240–300 cm. The species also has the second-largest average wingspan of any North American bird, after the California condor. This large wingspan allows the bird to use soaring flight for migration easily. Body weight can range between 3.5 and 13.6 kg, although typically these birds average between 5.0 and 9.1 kg.
Main Photo Credit: "American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), California, USA" by John Bruin, 2020. CC BY-NC 2.0. Description: Wikipedia
