📷 This file is published under the following Creative Commons license:Attribution NonCommercial Unported 3.0 · GFDL 1.2
📷 BenAveling
📷 JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/)
IUCN: Least Concern
Australian Pelican
Pelecanus conspicillatus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassAves›OrderPelecaniformes›FamilyPelecanidae›GenusPelecanus
About
The Australian pelican has the longest bill of any living bird — up to 50 cm — with a stretchy pouch that holds far more than its stomach. It scoops fish while swimming and will fly thousands of kilometres to reach inland lakes that bloom after outback rains, breeding in noisy colonies on temporary islands. When the water dries up the birds scatter back to the coasts.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Coasts, estuaries, lakes, rivers, and ephemeral inland waters
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, crustaceans, and small waterbirds
📏Size & Weight Body 1.6–1.9 m; wingspan 2.3–2.6 m
•weight 4–8 kg
⏳Lifespan 15–25 years
🗺Range Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands
BirdWaterbird
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Coasts, estuaries, lakes, rivers, and ephemeral inland waters
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, crustaceans, and small waterbirds
📏Size & Weight Body 1.6–1.9 m; wingspan 2.3–2.6 m
•weight 4–8 kg
⏳Lifespan 15–25 years
🗺Range Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands
Photo Credits
#1This file is published under the following Creative Commons license:Attribution NonCommercial Unported 3.0 · GFDL 1.2
#2BenAveling · CC BY-SA 3.0
#3JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0
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