The pelican is an amazing, unusual bird. The pelican has the largest and most capacious beak of any bird on the planet.
Where do pelicans live
Pink pelicans live in Southern and Equatorial Africa, on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the Black, Azov, Caspian, Aral Seas and in the deltas of rivers flowing into them, on the lakes of Asia Minor and Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and southern Western Siberia.
When did pelicans appear
Pelicans are birds that existed on Earth in prehistoric times: they appeared approximately 40-50 million years ago.
These are large and heavy birds, whose body length is 130-180 centimeters and their weight can reach 14 kilograms.
Why does a pelican have such a beak
The pelican's beak is flat, wide, with a large, well-stretchable skin sac underneath.
The bird uses its beak as a net to catch fish.
Due to their light skeleton and air-bubble layer under the skin, they cannot dive, so their main food, fish, is obtained directly from the surface of the water.
How pelicans catch fish
Pelicans often organize collective fishing: from 6 to 20 or more birds line up in a semicircle and, flapping their beaks and wings on the water, drive a school of fish into shallow water, where they catch it with their beak.
Having caught prey, the bird first pours water from its beak, then swallows the food.
Previously, we told amazing facts about seagulls.
