American white pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Identification Tips:
- Sexes similar
- Huge, white bird with black primaries and outer secondaries
- Flies with neck tucked
- Does not plunge into water from the air as Brown Pelicans do but
feeds while swimming
Adult:
- Long, orange bill with a pouch
- Short orange legs and feet
Immature:
- Brown-gray mottling about wing coverts
- Bill gray to flesh-colored
Similar species:
Unmistakable at rest. Wood Stork has black flight feathers
and could be mistaken at a distance, but note dark, unfeathered
head and neck, which is extended in flight. Whooping Crane,
Northern Gannet and Snow and Ross' Geese have black primaries and
could also be confused in flight at a distance, but they all lack
black secondaries.