Common Name: Pink-backed Pelican Scientific Name: Pelecanus rufescens
LEAST CONCERN Pink-backed Pelican Distribution: Central & Southern Africa Habitat: Freshwater & Coast Wing Span: 2.4m Weight: 5 - 6kg Diet: Carnivorous
The pink-backed pelican is white, grey and pink in colour and has dark grey tips to its wings. The beak is yellow and the feet can be various colours from grey to orange. The pelican has a distinctive throat poach which it uses to hold fish. The inside of this pouch is pink and the pouch can hold eight litres. The pelican is native to central and southern Africa and is also present in Madagascar, where it is found in coastal and wetland areas. The pelican can be found on lakes, rivers, along coastlines and in estuaries, but not in the open ocean. The pink-backed pelican feeds on primarily on fish, but will also eat invertebrates and amphibians. The pelican floats on the surface and plunges its head under the water to catch fish. The pelican gets a mouthful of fish and water. The water is siphoned out and the fish can then be eaten. Pink backed pelicans usually fish in groups. By all plunging their heads under water at once, the pelicans can confuse the fish and therefore catch more. The female lays 2 – 3 white eggs in a nest of sticks which is built in a tree. Pelicans are social birds and build their nests in groups. The eggs are incubated for 30 days. Once hatched, the chicks feed by eating partially digested food which the parent regurgitates into their throat pouch. The chicks are mature at 3 – 4 years of age.