Pelecanus Occidentalis are commonly known as the Brown pelicans. This is the smallest of all the species of pelicans. However, this is a huge bird in all aspects, and is only termed small in relation to other pelicans. The brown pelican is commonly found on coasts of the Americas. However, some young brown pelicans sometimes may wander off to fresh water lakes inland, as has been reported in some cases. After identifying and forming their nesting place, brown pelicans usually travel in groups seeking for warm waters during winter season. The chicks of brown pelicans are hatched in groups of up to three. They are looked after by their parents for up to ten months, before they can become independent and go off on their own to fend for themselves as adult pelicans.

Brown pelicans are different from white pelicans in that they are coloured brown. The other distinguishing characteristic of brown pelicans is that they usually dive from the air deep into the water to catch fish. The white pelicans on the other hand fish communally and relatively on the surface of the water. Brown pelicans feed on fish, frogs and other small sea animals. Several brown pelicans can often be seen flying in a linear formation just above the water surface. Their nests can be varied from a simple scratch on the ground to a huge nest of sticks in trees. Usually, brown pelicans live in groups and often in islands.

It has been said in some myths that brown pelicans become blind due to repeated deep sea diving in search for fish. Once they become blind, brown pelicans can starve and die since they are unable to see and hence they cannot search for food. However, pelicans are known to live for up to thirty years before going blind. Other causes of blindness in pelicans have been attributed to effects of pollution from chemical waste in the sea, diseases and attacks from predators among other reasons. Chemicals such as pesticides have been said to have threatened the brown pelican’s existence some years back. Pesticides have been discovered to be a real threat to survival of pelicans, and research made findings that the pesticide DDT in particular led to an extreme thinning of the pelican eggshells, and subsequently unable to sustain the embryo until it attains maturity. These findings led to the discontinuation of the use of DDT in many parts of the world.

Sometime back, the brown pelican had been categorized as a threatened species. This trend seems to have been reversed however, since the use of DDT was banned in the United States about forty years ago. After the ban, the population of the brown pelican was noted to increase, and this prompted the removal of the brown pelican from the list of endangered species sometime in the year 2009. The brown pelican is the national bird of Turkey, and a couple of other nations. It also appears on the mascot and seals of some institutions.