American White Pelican
- Family
- Pelecanidae
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least Concern 4
Where and when to see the American White Pelican
DraftMostly in Yucatán state
It arrives in winter at coastal lagoons, estuaries and shallow marshes, mostly along the Yucatán coast. Look for groups resting on sandbars or swimming together as they fish.
Where it’s reported most
- CelestúnCelestún, Yucatán
- El Corchito ReserveProgreso, Yucatán
- Las ColoradasRío Lagartos, Yucatán
- SisalHunucmá, Yucatán
When
From October to April
Reported from October to April.
Reports relative to effort
- January: 100%
- February: 79%
- March: 64%
- April: 30%
- May: 15%
- June: 9%
- July: 9%
- August: 10%
- September: 19%
- October: 34%
- November: 69%
- December: 87%
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2026 · Base map: Natural Earth
A winter visitor to the peninsula's coastal lagoons. Unlike the Brown Pelican it does not dive; flocks swim together, herding fish into the shallows and scooping them up.
- Identification
- A huge white waterbird with black flight feathers that show in flight and a very long orange bill with a pouch. Young birds are greyish.
- Voice
- Usually silent. When threatened it grunts.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftFishing as a team
It never dives from the air like the Brown Pelican. Groups swim together to herd fish into shallow water, then scoop them up with their bills, dipping at the same time. 1,2
A seasonal horn
In the breeding season both sexes grow a flat, hard plate on top of the bill. No other pelican has one, and it falls off once the eggs are laid. 3
A winter guest
It breeds on lakes in Canada and the United States and flies south for the winter, to warm coasts as far as Costa Rica. On the Yucatán Peninsula it is mostly a winter visitor, though a few birds stay through the summer. 1,3
A comeback
Until the early 1960s its numbers were considered threatened by changing water levels, disturbance and pesticides. It has recovered and is still increasing by more than 4% a year. 1,3
Sources
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): American White Pelican (opens in a new tab)
- All About Birds: American White Pelican (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: American white pelican (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 3,966 records from 2015–2026 from eBird, iNaturalist, and others, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), in 0.1° squares (about 10 km). eBird: doi.org/10.15468/aomfnb.
Months: the species’ records ÷ all bird records that month, scaled to the busiest month. It allows for birding effort; it is not the chance of seeing it. A blank square: few or no reports, not necessarily absent.
Tell us where, or ask how to find one.
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