Pelicans at first sight seem very unusual birds. Their huge beak looks disproportionate to the size of the body, however, it is he who helps them to successfully fish, which is the basis of their diet. In many respects pelicans are unique – they are alone in the world, since there are no related species in nature.
Pelicans are large birds, their body length reaches 180 centimeters, and the body weight can be up to 14 kilograms.
The distant ancestors of pelicans weighing up to four dozen kilograms appeared on Earth 40-50 million years ago.
The beak of a pelican, ending in a crochet, grows to 47 centimeters in length. In its lower part is a leather bag for fishing, which is capable of stretching.
Pelicans often “squeeze” their feathers with their beaks, because they quickly get wet.
Most of the time the pelicans are silent, but during nesting you can hear their deaf roars.
Pelicans are forced to fish near the surface of the water, because a light skeleton and air bubbles under the skin do not allow them to dive. Some American species have learned to dive into the water, falling into a pond from a great height.
Taking the fish, the pelican decant from the throat bag to 5 liters of water.
One pelican per day eats over a kilogram of fish. There are also cases when they ate other birds (see interesting facts about birds).
Pelicans form pairs only for one season.
Pelikan chicks appear blind and naked, the fluff covers their bodies only after 8-10 days, and they start flying on the 70-75 day after birth.
Mortality among newborn pelicans is very high – about half of the hatching chicks die. Birds die because of predators, because of unfavorable weather conditions or simply from hunger.
Gray and curly pelicans are listed in the Red Book.
Pelican is a sacred bird for Muslims, as, according to legend, this feathered giant carried stones in the throat sac to erect sacred places in Mecca.
Some nations depicted Jesus Christ in iconography in the form of a pelican.
In the heraldry of European countries, the pelican symbolized self-sacrificing parental love.
Pelican is a symbol of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after Herzen.
In Scandinavia, the pelican is the emblem of donation – thanks to the legend that these birds tear their breasts with their beaks and feed the chicks with their own blood.
On an Albanian coin of denomination 1 lek a pelican is depicted. These birds are also an alchemical symbol, including because of the similarity of the shape of their beak to the retort.
The sweep of the pelican wings is about three meters, they are able to lift these birds in the air to a height of up to 3 kilometers. High, of course, although eagles fly three times higher (see interesting facts about eagles).
Pelicans can hunt in groups, clapping their wings loudly and forcing the fish into shallow water. Cormorants, gulls and terns sometimes hunt with them.
Pelicans inhabit all continents of the globe, with the exception of Antarctica (see interesting facts about Antarctica).
Pelicans have the most capacious beak in the world – it can accommodate up to 3 buckets of fish.
Pelicans are the heaviest of all flying birds, and the skeleton is only a tenth of their total mass.
The nostrils of the pelicans do not – they breathe air through the beak.
