PELICANS AND THEIR RELATIVES BY JACK SCANLON AND
PELICANS AND THEIR RELATIVES BY JACK SCANLON AND VICTOR PEREZ
I. What are they? • Members of a group of birds that include gannets, boobies, cormorants, darters, frigate birds, and tropicbirds • Webbed toes and upper mandible is hooked • Some brightly colored • Found worldwide but also largely in the tropics also • Most found in coastal areas
II. Pelicans • • • Prefer warm latitudes and estuaries coastal and inland waters Large and can weigh up to 24 pounds Live in colonies and eat a lot of fish After breeding, they migrate vast distances Feed under water using their gular (throat) They attack their prey from high up and dive into the water Body has air sacs that help them float back up to the surface Eats average of 10 to 14 pounds of fish a day Smart and sometimes corral the fish by beating their wings on the water
III. Boobies and Gannets • Dive for a catch at up to 98 feet high • Red footed booby is the smallest and nests in trees • Female lays a single egg • The largest of the boobies is the blue footed • Female lays two or three eggs
IV. Cormorants (1) A. Phalacrocosracidae • Cormorants, are the most adept swimmer • Lack oil glands • Swallow prey headfirst • Used in Japan and Asian countries B. Phlacrocorax harrisi • Flightless • Isolated on two remote islands of the Galapagos • Contain abundance of food • No natural enemies • Uses its webbed feet
V. Cormorants (2) C. Phalacrocorax bougainvillei • Guano Cormorant • Produces rich manure known as guano • Reason for the phosphate rich manure • Sealed-off peninsulas is where they are isolated from predators
VI. Frigate Birds A. Lightweight bodies and a 7 ft. wingspan • Utilize air currents • Also have no oil glands, could drown • Skim above water eating jellyfish, squids, fishes, young sea turtles, and bits of carrion • Have a reputation to be like pirates
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