During winter months California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) adopt striking plumage. The gular pouch (throat) of adults transitions from olive green to bright red. Breeding adults are characterized primarily by a dark brown hindneck, and may also show a yellow patch at the base of the foreneck. Nonbreeding adults retain the white hindneck but, since they also may display a red gular pouch, they are sometimes mistaken for breeders. Head coloration in adults can be white, yellow or a mix of the two, and becomes speckled during molt or chick-feeding.
Brown pelican, winter adult breeding plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. This large seabird has a wingspan over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status, due largely to predation in the early 1900s and to decades of poor reproduction caused by DDT poisoning. La Jolla, California, USA
Image: 20074
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Common name: Brown pelican
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
Lat/Long: 32° 51' 00.76"N, 117° 16' 13.01"W (Coordinates: 32.85021°, -117.27028°)
Format: Digital 2:3
Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide.
Keywords: adult, animal, animalia, aves, bird, breeding, brown pelican, california, california brown pelican, chordata, coloration, creature, endangered, endangered threatened species, feather, la jolla, la jolla pelicans, mating, nature, occidentalis, pelecanidae, pelecaniform, pelecaniformes, pelecanus, pelecanus occidentalis, pelecanus occidentalis californicus, pelican, pelicanidae, plumage, san diego, seabird, threatened, usa, vertebrata, vertebrate, wildlife
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