The Brown Pelican

A common sight while studying the waves from Playa Guiones, the Brown Pelican glides easily with its friends in a straight line or v-formation, elegantly skimming the surface of the ocean, mimicking the rise and fall of the water.  Basically unchanged from ancient pelican fossils, this unique bird has had 30-40 million years to perfect its graceful in-flight maneuvers.  The Brown Pelican uses its keen eyesight to spot its next meal and then, unlike other pelican species, folds its wings and dives bill first into the water, using its large beak to scoop up fish near the surface.  Internal air sacks beneath the skin help to cushion the impact and bob the bird back up to the surface.  Though capable of holding up to 3 gallons, the pelican’s pouch is not a carrying case.  Rather, it dips its beak to spill out the water and then throws its head back to swallow the fish.  The only potential foil to this technique could be a laughing gull, which has learned to hang out nearby this capable fisherman, sometimes even perching on the pelican’s head, always at the ready to steal the catch of the day.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Costa Rica, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.