The Great White Pelican is one of the largest flying birds in the world, an unmistakable bird of open lakes, deltas, and coastal lagoons across Africa, southeastern Europe, and central Asia. In flight it soars on broad black-and-white wings, but on the water it is best known for its habit of fishing in coordinated groups, with lines of birds beating the surface and dipping their enormous pouched bills in unison to corral shoals of fish.
Breeding adults take on a faint pink flush across the body and develop a bright yellowish breast patch, while the bare skin of the face and the pouch glow with warm colour in the display season. Highly gregarious, the species gathers in dense colonies that can number many thousands of pairs, and it will travel long distances between roosting, feeding, and nesting sites.
A very large, mostly white pelican with contrasting black flight feathers that show clearly when the wings are spread. Look for the pale pink cast to the plumage, the yellow breast patch and pinkish bill pouch in breeding birds, and the pinkish or flesh-coloured legs that help separate it from other pelicans.
| Size | Among the largest flying birds, 140 to 180 cm long with a wingspan reaching well over 3 m |
| Plumage | White with a faint pink tinge; black primaries and secondaries obvious in flight |
| Bill | Long grey-and-yellow bill with a large stretchy pinkish throat pouch |
| Face | Bare pinkish skin around the eye; a shaggy crest on the nape in breeding adults |
| Legs | Pink to flesh-coloured, unlike the darker legs of some relatives |
Away from the breeding colony the Great White Pelican is largely silent. At the nest and in display it becomes noisy, giving low grunts, moos, and deep growling calls, while nestlings beg with shrill squealing sounds. The overall effect at a large colony is a constant low murmur of guttural notes.
The species breeds in scattered colonies from southeastern Europe and the Black and Caspian Sea regions through Central Asia, and across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Northern populations are migratory, wintering in northeast Africa and south Asia, while many African birds are more sedentary or move in response to water levels. It favours large shallow lakes, swamps, deltas, and sheltered coastal lagoons rich in fish.
The Great White Pelican feeds almost entirely on fish, often taking a kilogram or more each day. It frequently forages cooperatively, with groups swimming in a horseshoe or line and driving fish into shallow water before scooping them up in the expandable pouch, which drains before the catch is swallowed. Cichlids and other locally abundant species make up much of the diet where they occur.
Breeding is colonial and often enormous, with nests placed on the ground on islands, in reedbeds, or on flattened vegetation. The female typically lays one to three chalky white eggs, which both parents incubate. Young birds gather into crand mob-like groups called pods as they grow, and they are fed by regurgitation until they can fly and fish for themselves.
- Dalmatian Pelican: Larger and greyer-white with curly nape feathers and greyish legs, overlapping in range in eastern Europe and Asia.
- Pink-backed Pelican: Smaller, greyer African pelican with a pinkish back and duller bill, often on smaller wetlands.
How big is a Great White Pelican?
It is one of the largest flying birds, measuring 140 to 180 cm long with a wingspan that can exceed 3 m and a weight of up to around 15 kg in the biggest males.
Why do Great White Pelicans fish together?
They often forage cooperatively, swimming in lines or arcs to herd fish into shallow water where the whole group can scoop them up. This coordinated method is more efficient than fishing alone in open water.
Is the Great White Pelican endangered?
Globally it is listed as Least Concern because of its wide range and large numbers, but many individual colonies have declined due to wetland drainage, disturbance, and persecution.
What is the pouch under the bill for?
The stretchy throat pouch works like a dip net, scooping up fish along with water. The bird then drains the water out of the sides of its bill before swallowing the catch.