Pelicans are large aquatic birds, primarily known for their enormous bills and the distinctive throat pouch used in feeding. While their public image is that of a serene, fish-eating waterbird, the answer to whether they consume other birds is a surprising yes. This predatory behavior, however, is not their standard diet but a documented, opportunistic action observed under specific conditions. It represents a significant deviation from their usual aquatic foraging techniques.
The Typical Pelican Diet
Pelicans are primarily piscivores, meaning their diet is composed overwhelmingly of fish found in marine, estuarine, or freshwater environments. They target schooling fish, such as anchovies, sardines, mullet, and herring, consuming them in large quantities. A single large species, like the Great White Pelican, may consume several pounds of fish daily.
Pelicans employ different feeding strategies depending on the species. Brown and Peruvian Pelicans often utilize a spectacular plunge-diving technique, plummeting from heights to stun and scoop up prey near the water’s surface. Other species, including the American White Pelican and the Australian Pelican, typically feed cooperatively, herding schools of fish into shallow water for easy capture.
Beyond fish, the pelican’s diet includes other aquatic life. They consume crustaceans like crayfish and shrimp, amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, and sometimes small reptiles like turtles. This broader consumption pattern highlights their nature as generalist carnivores, ready to exploit accessible food sources.
Avian Consumption: Why and Where It Occurs
The consumption of other birds is a documented, relatively infrequent behavior, almost always driven by opportunism or environmental stress. This predation becomes more pronounced during periods of food scarcity, such as when local fish populations decline or during intense breeding seasons. The Australian, Great White, Brown, and Peruvian pelicans have all been recorded exhibiting this practice.
The Australian Pelican has been observed preying on the young of various waterbirds, including Australian White Ibis and Silver Gulls. Great White Pelicans have also been seen capturing and swallowing pigeons in urban parks. These events demonstrate a remarkable adaptability to exploit available food sources when traditional aquatic prey is scarce.
Specific, documented cases often involve chicks and nestlings, which are easy targets for a large predator. In areas where seabirds nest in dense colonies, such as the Cape Gannet colonies targeted by the Great White Pelican, parents may be forced to leave their young unguarded to search for dwindling fish stocks. This creates a window of vulnerability that the pelicans exploit, sometimes consuming chicks that are partially grown. Brown Pelicans have also been reported preying on the nestlings of Common Murres and egrets in their coastal habitats. This predatory expansion indicates that while fish remain the preference, pelicans will not hesitate to consume avian prey when the opportunity presents itself.
The Anatomical Process of Swallowing Prey
The pelican’s specialized anatomy, designed for scooping and draining fish, is surprisingly well-suited for ingesting large, awkward, feathered prey. The most noticeable feature is the gular pouch, a highly elastic sac of skin suspended from the lower jaw. This pouch acts as a temporary net, capable of expanding to hold up to 13 liters of material, far exceeding the bird’s stomach capacity.
When capturing a bird, the pelican uses its bill and pouch to manipulate the prey. For aquatic birds like gulls or ducklings, the pelican may hold the victim underwater until it is drowned, making the subsequent swallowing process easier. The pouch then serves to hold the prey before it is positioned for ingestion, a process that requires the pelican to drain any collected water or air.
Swallowing a large, non-streamlined item like a bird is accomplished by a powerful upward jerk of the neck, which forces the prey down the throat whole. The flexibility of the lower mandible and the elasticity of the pouch allow the mouth to open wide enough to accommodate objects that appear significantly larger than the bird’s throat. This mechanism, while primarily adapted for fish, allows the pelican to overcome the physical challenge of ingesting a feathered creature. This sometimes results in a visible bulge as the meal passes into the esophagus.