Brown Pelican
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m (Protected "Brown Pelican" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]) |
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'''Habitat:''' North America & Northern South American. Summer Range: Breeds in scattered locations along coasts from Maryland southward around Florida and westward to southern Texas and Mexico, to Honduras. On Pacific Coast from southern California to South America. Also in Caribbean and northern South America. Wanders widely after breeding, north to British Columbia and New England. Winter Range: Winters along both coasts from central California and Virginia southward to South America. This pelican is only found on coastal regions and will not visit inland lakes. It prefers warm coastal marine and estuarine environments. | '''Habitat:''' North America & Northern South American. Summer Range: Breeds in scattered locations along coasts from Maryland southward around Florida and westward to southern Texas and Mexico, to Honduras. On Pacific Coast from southern California to South America. Also in Caribbean and northern South America. Wanders widely after breeding, north to British Columbia and New England. Winter Range: Winters along both coasts from central California and Virginia southward to South America. This pelican is only found on coastal regions and will not visit inland lakes. It prefers warm coastal marine and estuarine environments. | ||
| - | '''Status:''' | + | '''Status:''' Least Concern /Vulnerable. '''Global Population''': 300,000 mature individuals. The Brown Pelican population declined severely in the first half of the 20th century. Shooting for feathers ,"protecting" fishing caused declines in pelican populations, pesticide poisoning (especially by DDT) caused severe declines across the range in the late 1950's and the extirpation from Louisiana ("the pelican state"). It was listed as Endangered throughout the range in 1970. The ban on DDT led to a population recovery, and it was removed from the Endangered Species list in Atlantic Coast states in 1985. Breeding numbers in most states are stable or increasing, and the total population in the United States now exceeds historical levels. Pelican populations took a hit in Gulf Coast region from the 2010 BP Oil spill. Populations on the western coast are still protected. All Pelicans in the United States are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. |
'''Diet:''' Fish and some marine invertebrates. Prey is usually caught by an aerial dive into the ocean. | '''Diet:''' Fish and some marine invertebrates. Prey is usually caught by an aerial dive into the ocean. | ||
