All printables
Brown Pelican — printable fact sheet
Free to print or save as PDF. Great for classrooms, homeschooling, and young explorers.
Creature Atlas
Animal Fact Sheet
Name: ____________________
Date: ____________________
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
The brown pelican is one of only two pelicans in the world that plunge-dives; every other species swims and scoops. It drops from as high as 20 m, and just before impact it twists its body to the left. That twist is not stylistic: the pelican's trachea and oesophagus run down th…
Did you know?
- The Brown Pelican was once endangered due to pesticide pollution, but has made a remarkable recovery after DDT was banned in the United States.
- Laughing gulls habitually land on a pelican's head as it drains its pouch and snatch fish straight out of the bill. Brown pelicans are the smallest of the pelicans, but their wingspan still exceeds 2 m, and they glide in lines centimetres above the wave face, using the cushion of air the wave pushes ahead of it. The dive is learned: juveniles are visibly clumsy at it and their success rate is far lower than adults'.
What I learned
Draw the brown pelican
© Creature Atlas · www.creatureatlas.com · Free for classroom & personal use
Want the whole set?
Get printable fact-sheet packs, coloring pages, and classroom worksheet bundles for dozens of animals — ready to download and print.
Browse printable packsGet a free printable each week
Join the newsletter for a new Creature of the Week + printables.