Wonders of God’s Creation

A Peek Inside the Beak When most people think of pelicans, they think of the gular sac—the elastic throat pouch that’s connected to the pelican’s neck and lower beak. When relaxed, the gular sac almost disappears into the neck. But when a pelican goes fishing, it stretches out to scoop up as much as 3 gallons of water—and, more importantly, the fish in that water. That’s more than a pelican’s stomach can hold, though, so before swallowing its meal, the pelican tilts its head up to drain the water out the sides of the pouch. The pelican has to act quickly—enterprising gulls sometimes swoop in and snatch away the hardwon food! Some pelicans hunt alone. The brown pelican divebombs from the air, smacking the water with a mighty impact that stuns an unsuspecting fish. From a distance, the sizable splash is sometimes mistaken for a whale spouting. Others, like American white pelicans, often swim as a group to corral prey into shallow waters, snatching them up in a group-synchronized head dip and tilt. Pictured: American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) Photo by James Capo Text by James Capo and Jeremy Lallier