Great white pelican

Great white pelican
Great white pelican
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Class:
Aves
Order:
Pelecaniformes
Family:
Pelecanidae
Genus:
Pelecanus
Binomial name
Pelecanus onocrotalus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Pelecanus onocrotalus

The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) is also known as the Eastern white pelican, white pelican, or old world white pelican. They are the second largest birds in the pelican family, with only the Dalmatian pelican larger than them.

The pelican breeds in southeastern Europe, south Asia, and Africa.[2] They are most common in Africa, as 80% of the 90,000 breeding pairs mate there.[2] However, because of climate change and humans using the wetlands they live in, some populations of great white pelicans are declining.[3]


References

  1. ↑ Bird, J., Butchart, S. (2009). "Eudyptula minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 10 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Underhill, Les; de Ponte, Maria (10 June 2004). "Great white pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus". Avian Demography Unit. Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Butchart, Stuart; Ekstrom, Jonathan; Malpas, Lucy. "Species Factsheet: Pelecanus onocrotalus". BirdLife International. Event occurs at 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2011.