Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
Adult breeding Pacific
- Bright red throat pouch
- White head tinged with yellow
- Dark nape
- Slaty gray body with darker belly
- © Chuq Von Rospach, CA, Dana Point, December 2007
Brown Pelican
Adult breeding Atlantic
- Mostly gray body, darker on belly
- White crown
- Rich, dark brown nape and neck
- © Susan E. Newman, FL, Marathon, December 2011
Brown Pelican
Adult nonbreeding Atlantic
- White head and neck
- Gray back and wings, dark brown belly
- Long pale bill, dark brown throat pouch
- © birdsandwater, NC, Wilmington, December 2008
Brown Pelican
Adult nonbreeding Pacific
- Plunge dives into the water to catch fish
- Darker belly contrasts with paler gray upperparts and wings
- © Elaine Cundiff, Loreto, Baja California, Mexico, February 2010
Brown Pelican
Juvenile Atlantic
- Dull gray-brown overall
- White belly
- Dull yellow-gray bill
- © Susan E. Newman, FL, Marathon, December 2011
Brown Pelican
Juvenile Pacific
- Dark brown overall
- Bill and throat pouch pale pinkish gray (Atlantic juvenile has darker pouch)
- © Kevin T. Karlson
Brown Pelican
Adult breeding Atlantic
- Dark brown neck and nape
- White head, yellowish face
- Very long, pale bill with dark throat pouch
- © bird_dog57, FL, September 2008
Brown Pelican
Adults nonbreeding Pacific
- Long, pale bill, dark throat pouch
- White head and neck, dark gray-brown belly
- Long, somewhat ragged looking wings
- Mottled gray back and wings
- © birdmandea, WA, Westhaven, October 2008
Brown Pelican
Juvenile Atlantic
- Mostly dark brown with white on belly and underwings
- Bill and throat pouch dark gray
- © Gary Tyson, FL, Cocoa Beach, June 2010
Brown Pelican
Adult breeding Atlantic with chicks
- Chicks solid downy white with pale bills and throat pouches
- © Michael Fannon, MD, Smith Island, August 2009
Similar Species
Adult Brown Pelican and Adult American White Pelican
- American White Pelican is similar in shape to Brown Pelican, but much larger
- American White Pelican has solid white body with black wing-tips, and orange bill and throat pouch
- © lee.karney2, FL, April 2006
Juvenile
- Easily distinguishable from juvenile Brown Pelican
- Long neck, and short, yellow, hooked bill
- Longer tail
- Body mostly black
- © Byard Miller, Pascagoula, MS, November 2007