Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. Long exposure shows motion as a blur. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage with dark brown hindneck and bright red gular throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15136
Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15394
Brown pelican head throw, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20204
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.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 23640
Brown pelican, adult winter non-breeding plumage showing white hindneck and red gular throat pouch.. 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.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15130
California brown pelican in flight, soaring over the ocean with its huge wings outstretched. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. Adult winter non-breeding plumage showing brown hindneck and red gular throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20077
Brown pelican head throw, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20188
Brown pelican head throw, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20205
A brown pelican preening, reaching with its beak to the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of its tail. Preen oil from the uropygial gland is spread by the pelican's beak and back of its head to all other feathers on the pelican, helping to keep them water resistant and dry. Note adult winter breeding plumage in display, with brown neck, red gular throat pouch and yellow and white head.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20295
California brown pelican in flight, soaring over the ocean with its huge wings outstretched. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. Adult winter non-breeding plumage showing white hindneck and red gular throat pouch.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 20076
Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 35150
A giant black sea bass is an endangered species that can reach up to 8 feet in length and 500 pounds, often found amid the giant kelp forest, Once nearly fished to extinction and now thought to be at risk of a genetic bottleneck, the giant sea bass is slowly recovering and can be seen in summer months in California's kelp forests.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 39442
Aerial Photo of North Coronado Island, Baja California, Mexico, viewed from the southwest. The Keyhole, a spectacular narrow cut and underwater tunnel through the island, is seen at the narrow neck of the island. The San Diego and Tijuana coastline is visible in the distance.
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 35896
Portrait of a California brown pelican in winter breeding plumage, yellow head, red throat, pink skin around the eye, brown hind neck. Brown pelicans were formerly an endangered species. In 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT. Since that time, populations of pelicans have recovered and expanded. The recovery has been so successful that brown pelicans were taken off the endangered species list in 2009.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 40017