Brown Pelicans feed by plunging into the water, stunning small fish with the impact of their large bodies and scooping them up in their expandable throat pouches. When not foraging, pelicans stand around fishing docks, jetties, and beaches or cruise the shoreline. In flight, lines of pelicans glide on their broad wings, often surfing updrafts along wave faces or cliffs. Their wingbeats are slow, deep, and powerful.

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves. They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up.

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a small pelican found in the Americas. It is one of the best known and most prominent birds found in the coastal areas of the southern and western United States. It is one of only 3 pelican species found in the Western Hemisphere. The Brown Pelican is one of the only two pelican species which feeds by diving into the water. The Brown Pelican is now a staple of crowded coastal regions and is tolerated to varying degrees by fishermen and boatmen. It is the national bird of Barbados and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and state bird of Louisiana. It is also one of the mascots of Tulane University and is on the seals of Tulane University,

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a small pelican found in the US. It is one of the best known and most prominent birds found in the coastal areas of the southern and western United States. The Brown Pelican is only one of the two pelican species which feeds by diving into the water.

The entire Pelican colony launches into Take-Off at Key Largo Florida (pelecanus-occidentalis). Brown Pelicans feed on mid-sized fish that they capture by diving from above and then scooping or dipping the fish into their pouch, which acts as a flexible dip net. Although they do feed on anchovies and sardines most of their prey has little commercial value.

Thriving Pelican Colony on Key Largo, Florida behind the wounded bird sanctuary. These are mostly released injured birds. Fishing line is one of the biggest culprits in damaging our semi-tropical bird life. (Pelecanus occidentalis) Nesting is on islands by preference. On the Southeast coast, it is often in mangroves, where the birds build a rather flimsy nest of sticks, reeds, bones, and seaweed. On islands without predators, they often build on the ground in large colonies.

Brown Pelican at Key Largo perched on a coral knob. Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus. Although globally abundant, Brown Pelicans were once severely endangered in the United States. The major cause of their decline was pesticide poisoning. Since DDT was banned, there has been a full recovery on the east coast and other populations are showing steady improvement. Threats today include becoming snarled in abandoned fishing lines and flying into overhead wires.