Stats

Lifespan: 10-25 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Coastal marine
Range: The Americas
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Herd Safety
Status: Common

About

A coastal seabird of the Americas, distinguished by its long hooked bill, expandable throat pouch, and dark grey-brown body. It hunts by plunge-diving from heights of up to twenty metres, stunning fish before scooping them up in its pouch.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Pelecanidae
Genus: Pelecanus
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis