California Brown Pelican in Breeding Plumage in Flight La Jolla California
by Ram Vasudev
Title
California Brown Pelican in Breeding Plumage in Flight La Jolla California
Artist
Ram Vasudev
Medium
Photograph
Description
A California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) in breeding plumage cruising gracefully along the pacific coast in La Jolla, California.
The California brown pelican is a permanent resident of the coastal marine environment on the Pacific Coast and the range extends from British Columbia, Canada, south to Nayarit, Mexico. Brown pelicans weigh about 8 pounds and measure a little over 4 feet in length, with a wingspan of over 6.5 feet. There are 6 subspecies of brown pelican and are similar in appearance with slight differences particularly in breeding plumage. Sexes look similar, though males are slightly larger. Brown pelicans have short, dark legs, long, broad wings, a large, heavy all-brown body, and a huge bill. Webbing between all four toes makes the brown pelican an awkward walker, but a strong swimmer. In basic plumage, adults have a white neck and belly, pale yellow head with occipital crest, a brown body, brown eyes, a throat pouch that is reddish orange, and a billface that is paler at the base and tipped with yellow. As the breeding season approaches, the distal end of the bill turns reddish, the proximal end of the throat pouch brightens to a poppy-red, the iris turns a yellowish white to light blue, and a white stripe runs down the pouch side of neck, while the rest of the neck stays dark brown, as in this image. Colors start to fade during the onset of incubation, and the yellowish feathers on the head are replaced with white feathers. (info from nps.gov)
Copyright � Ram Vasudev. All right reserved.
Uploaded
March 29th, 2014
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