“Percy Pelican”
Day 83 of 366 Day Project
“Magic is everywhere, explore & be amazed everyday!”
Earth’s oceans and waterways wouldn’t be the same without the amazing birds that wing so gracefully over water and crashing waves. Pelicans are fascinating creatures.
This pelican, who I’ve named Percy… was hanging around Pt Cartwright boat ramp waiting for the fishermen to haul in their catch of the day. So today, I thought why not get closer to nature and learn more about these graceful birds.
- Pelican is a giant bird, which has a wingspan of five meters, so that they are able to fly up to an altitude of 3000 meters.
- Pelicans live on every continent except Antarctica.
- There are eight species of pelicans, the majority of which live in warm regions, mainly near the coast and estuaries.
- Pelicans eat fish, tadpoles, crustaceans, sometimes even turtles.
- After catching pray, pelican pushes water to the sides, and then moves the food into the throat and swallows it.
- Pelicans like to hunt in groups.
- Pelicans have the most spacious beak, which can hold up to 3 buckets of fish.
- Pelicans are among the heaviest flying birds, but, despite this, their skeleton is 1/10 of body weight.
- They have buoyancy air bags that are located among the bones, chest, neck, under the skin and wings. These air bags help them swim and improve the aerodynamics of flight.
- Pelicans have no nostrils and they breathe through their beaks.
Percy the Pelican – taken at Pt Cartwright boat ramp
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