A pelican with an enormous bill. The pouch beneath it swells out like a net to scoop fish from the water. White and gray make a lifelike bird; bright colors turn the same picture into something playful.
The pouch works like a net. The bird plunges its bill into the water and scoops up fish along with a great deal of water — around 13 litres in a large pelican. It then drains the water out along the edges of the bill and swallows the catch.
How big is a pelican?
The great white pelican is one of the largest. Its wings span about 3 metres and a big male weighs around 10 kilograms, putting it among the heaviest of all flying birds. The bill alone can be more than 40 centimetres long.
What do pelicans eat?
Mainly fish — a large bird is said to eat around 1.2 kilograms a day. Great white pelicans often fish as a team, swimming in a line to drive the shoal into the shallows before dipping their bills together.
