Wednesday's Wildlife: American White Pelican

Few birds make an entrance quite like the American White Pelican. With a wingspan that can reach three metres, bright white feathers, and an enormous bill, these birds are hard to miss. Yet despite their impressive size, American White Pelicans are surprisingly graceful in flight and highly specialised for life on Alberta’s wetlands.

Alberta provides important breeding and foraging habitat for American White Pelicans, and the latest provincial general status rank is “sensitive,” based on the 2020 assessment. Alberta’s species-status database notes that while the general population is increasing, the number of active breeding colonies is declining, raising concerns about disease, predation and pesticide contamination.

American White Pelicans are known as "pirate birds" due to their habitat of occasionally stealing food from smaller birds or even other pelicans.

Where American White Pelicans live

During the breeding season, American White Pelicans are birds of inland waters rather than ocean coastlines. In Alberta, they are associated with large lakes, reservoirs, rivers and wetlands where shallow water provides abundant food. Their preferred breeding habitat is particularly distinctive: treeless or sparsely vegetated islands in large lakes, separated from mainland predators and relatively protected from waves. Alberta habitat information describes the species as a colonial breeder on treeless islands in large lakes, ideally in locations remote from human activity, such as Hays Reservoir and Police Outpost Provincial Park. 

Lake islands are critical because American White Pelicans nest on the ground. A colony may contain hundreds or even thousands of birds, with nests packed into relatively open areas. The advantage of an island is straightforward: coyotes, foxes, and other land predators have much more difficulty reaching eggs and chicks.

The species is also highly mobile. During the breeding season, adults may travel considerable distances between their nesting islands and feeding areas – sometimes over 90 kilometres. Outside the breeding season, American White Pelicans migrate south, with different populations using wintering areas in the southern United States and Mexico. Canada is particularly important to the species because a large proportion of North America’s breeding population nests here.

Pelicans do not keep food in their pouch but rather use it as a giant net to catch food and then eat it afterwards.

A specialised way of eating

Their enormous bill is not just for show. American White Pelicans use their flexible throat pouch to scoop prey from the water, but unlike Brown Pelicans, they do not plunge-dive from the air. Instead, they usually feed while swimming. Their diet consists primarily of fish, especially smaller species, although they may also eat crayfish, salamanders, tadpoles and other aquatic prey.

One of the most fascinating aspects of their feeding behaviour is cooperation. A group of pelicans can form a loose line or semicircle and swim together, driving fish toward shallow water. Once the fish are concentrated, the birds dip their bills into the water and scoop up their meals.

This behaviour is a good example of how the pelican's lifestyle is adapted to Alberta's productive wetlands. They do not necessarily need to chase individual fish through deep water; instead, they can use their numbers and coordinated movements to make prey easier to catch.

Pelicans are also opportunistic feeders. Research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has documented their use of a variety of fish species, including occasional consumption of sport fish or fish from aquaculture facilities. However, concerns about competition with fisheries need to be considered in context: their natural diet is often dominated by smaller fish that have relatively little commercial or recreational value.

American White Pelicans keep their eggs warm by standing on them with their webbed feet.

Courtship, nesting and family life

American White Pelicans are monogamous within a breeding season, forming a pair bond after arriving at their breeding colony. 

Pairs may circle through the air, strut beside one another, bow, sway their heads, and jab at potential nest sites. The elaborate displays help establish pair bonds and coordinate the beginning of nesting.

Once paired, the birds create a simple nest on the ground, usually a shallow depression surrounded by a low rim of soil, gravel, or vegetation. Both parents participate in the incubation and care of the young. A clutch commonly contains two eggs.

The challenges begin as soon as the eggs hatch. American White Pelican chicks hatch asynchronously, meaning one chick can be larger and more developed than its sibling. Competition between siblings can be intense, and siblicide, the death of one chick as a result of aggression from its sibling, is common enough to be an important part of the species' breeding biology.

After several weeks, young pelicans leave their nests and gather with other chicks in groups called crèches. Parents continue to forage and return to the colony to feed their own young. This allows the adults to maintain feeding routines while the growing chicks gain protection by remaining together.

Pelicans have hidden air pockets within their body to help them stay buoyant.

Natural threats

An adult American White Pelican is an intimidating target. Its enormous size means that it has relatively few natural predators once fully grown.

The eggs and young are much more vulnerable. Coyotes and foxes can threaten colonies when they can reach nesting areas, while gulls, ravens and several raptors may prey on eggs or chicks.

Weather can also be a major source of mortality. Severe storms, flooding and other extreme conditions can affect exposed ground nests and young birds. Outbreaks of disease such as West Nile Virus can be particularly serious because so many birds are concentrated together in breeding colonies. 

This colonial lifestyle is both a strength and a vulnerability: thousands of birds can benefit from suitable habitat and social behaviour, but a single disturbance, disease outbreak or catastrophic weather event can affect a large number of birds at once.

Like geese, pelicans fly in a V-shape when migrating.

Human-related threats

For American White Pelicans, one of the most important human-related threats is disturbance at breeding colonies.

These birds are particularly sensitive while nesting and raising young. Approaching a colony by boat, on foot or from other vantage points can cause adults to leave their nests. When adults are absent, eggs and chicks can become vulnerable to overheating, exposure and predators. 

Habitat loss is another concern. Pelicans depend on a relatively specific combination of nesting islands, suitable water levels and productive feeding areas. Changes to wetlands, drought, water-level fluctuations and degradation of foraging habitat can reduce the places where colonies can successfully breed and feed. 

Human-wildlife conflicts can also occur around commercial fish farms and fisheries. Because pelicans eat fish, large groups may sometimes congregate where fish are readily available. 

Historically, pollution was also a serious problem for the species. American White Pelican populations declined during the twentieth century, with human activity contributing to those losses; populations subsequently rebounded following important conservation measures and changes in environmental contaminants.

Pelicans have air-conditioning throats. When too hot, they'll wiggle their throat pouches to cool down.

Giving Alberta’s pelicans room to thrive

The story of the American White Pelican is ultimately one of resilience. The species has recovered substantially from historic population declines, but that does not mean every colony is secure. Alberta's designation of the species as “sensitive” reflects the importance of protecting breeding colonies and the habitat that connects them to productive feeding waters.

For people who encounter pelicans in Alberta, one of the best ways to help is also one of the simplest: give them space. Avoid approaching nesting islands, keep boats and watercraft away from active colonies, and observe from a respectful distance.

For assistance with injured and orphaned wildlife, please contact the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403-214-1312.

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References

Alberta Government. (2000). Wetlands and water quality improvement: Significant breeding bird species of Alberta. Government of Alberta. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/1a030a23-50df-43c6-9f2b-b16788b7797c

Alberta Government. (2020). Wild species status search: American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). Government of Alberta. https://www.alberta.ca/lookup/wild-species-status-search.aspx

Bartos, A. J., Sovada, M. A., Igl, L. D., & Pietz, P. J. (2013). Indirect cannibalism by crèche-aged American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) chicks. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 127(1), 72–75. https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v127i1.1413

King, D. T. (2019). American White Pelicans. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nwrcwdmts/21/

Sovada, M. A., Pietz, P. J., Converse, K. A., King, D. T., Hofmeister, E. K., Scherr, P., & Ip, H. S. (2008). Impact of West Nile virus and other mortality factors on American White Pelicans at breeding colonies in the northern plains of North America. Biological Conservation, 141(4), 1021–1031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.01.019

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Field Station. (2026). American White Pelican. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. https://uwm.edu/field-station/bug-of-the-week/american-white-pelican/

Government of Ontario. (2017). American White Pelican recovery strategy. Government of Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/page/american-white-pelican-recovery-strategy

U.S. Geological Survey. (2013). West Nile virus in American White Pelican chicks: Transmission, immunity, and survival. https://www.usgs.gov/publications/west-nile-virus-american-white-pelican-chicks-transmission-immunity-and-survival