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The American White Pelican's overall length is about 50–67 inches, courtesy of the huge beak, which measures 13–14.4 inches in males and 10.4–13 in in females. It has a wingspan of about 95–120 in and weighs between 11 and 20 lb. The plumage is almost entirely bright white, except the black primary and secondary remiges, which are hardly visible except in flight.
The bill is long and flat, with a large throat sac, and in the breeding season vivid orange like the iris, the bare skin around the eye, and the feet. Apart from the difference in size, males and females look exactly alike.
Each bird eats around than 4 pounds of food a day. Mostly fish and crustaceans such as rainbow trout, common carp, and catfish, but are also known to eat crayfish and amphibians. Their diet at the zoo is fish.
You can find them in North and Central America. These pelicans are found near lakes, salt bays, marshes, and beaches.
These pelicans are very fond of company, and they usually stay together in large colonies to bring up their families.
They are graceful fliers, either singly, in flight formations, or soaring on thermals in flocks. They are skilled swimmers, but they do not plunge-dive for prey like their coastal relatives the Brown Pelican. Instead they make shallow dives from the surface of the water or just plunge their heads underwater.
This species is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. However, the species is common enough to qualify as a Species of Least Concern according to the IUCN.
