Animalia Life

Pelecanus philippensis
TAXONOMY
Pelecanus philippensis Gmelin, 1789, Philippine Islands. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Gray pelican, Philippine pelican, spotted-billed pelican; French: Pelican а bec tachetй; German: Graupelikan; Spanish: Pelнcano oriental.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
50–60 in (127–152 cm); 9–12 lb (4.1–5.4 kg); male slightly larger than female. Grayish white with dark wingtips.
DISTRIBUTION
Largest remaining populations are in India, Sri Lanka, southern Cambodia, and Sumatra. Vagrants may appear elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
HABITAT
Freshwater, brackish, and marine wetlands.
BEHAVIOR
Head bowing, head turning, and bill clapping are among the courtship displays.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
May take small reptiles and amphibians in addition to fish. Occasionally forages communally in the manner typical of larger pelicans.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Usually lays three eggs in an arboreal nest of sticks. Incubation takes 30 days; fledging may occur between 60 and 90 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Listed as Vulnerable. Suffers from habitat loss, pollution, and human disturbance. Numbers decreased alarmingly in the twentieth century making it now the rarest pelican.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Protected by villagers in India but occasionally consumed in Cambodia.

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