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A white American white pelican with black wing tips landing on water.
Photo: Manjith Kainickara, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

A huge white North American pelican with a nine-foot wingspan that scoops up fish with its pouched bill, often while fishing in teams.

🐦 Pelicans
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About the American White Pelican

American white pelicans are about 5 feet long, weigh 11 to 30 pounds and have wings nearly 9 feet across, second only to the California condor in North America. The pouch on the bill can hold 3 gallons of water. They spend summers inland, from British Columbia to Ontario and California to Minnesota, and winter along the Gulf Coast and the Pacific coast. Each bird eats about 4 pounds of fish a day.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos[1]
Size
About 5 feet long, with a wingspan of nearly 9 feet.[1]
Weight
11 to 30 pounds.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Mostly fish such as minnows, trout, carp and catfish, plus crayfish and amphibians.[1]
Habitat
Freshwater lakes, rivers, marshes and coastal estuaries.[1]
Where it lives
North and Central America, migrating between inland summer homes and warmer coasts.[1]
Group life
Very social. Breeding colonies can have thousands of birds.[1]
Babies
Two eggs, but usually only one chick survives. Chicks gather in groups called crèches.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2025).[2]

Fun facts

  • A white pelican's pouch can hold 3 gallons of water.[1]
  • Groups of pelicans herd fish into shallow water to catch them.[1]
  • In breeding season, adults grow a bump called a "horn" on top of the bill.[1]

Vocabulary

pouch
A stretchy bag of skin under a pelican's bill used to scoop fish.
wingspan
The distance from one wing tip to the other when the wings are spread.
migrate
To travel from one region to another as the seasons change.
colony
A large group of animals of one kind that live or nest together.
crèche
A group of young animals gathered together while the adults are away.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “American White Pelican.” https://www.sfzoo.org/american-white-pelican/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (American White Pelican).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697611/281856383 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Pelicans

A gray pink-backed pelican standing on grass.Pink-Backed PelicanPelecanus rufescensOne of the smallest pelicans, a gray African pelican with a pinkish back that nests in trees.