Disclaimer: Everything in this post is copied from 10 Fun Facts About Pelicans by Mark Mancini. I just shortened it a bit, so that the focus is more on photos.

Pelicans are awesome. They’ve got interesting feet, spectacular hunting habits, and throat pouches that can trap a lot more than fish. Here are a few things you might not have known about these eccentric birds.

THE PELICAN FAMILY IS AT LEAST 30 MILLION YEARS OLD.

The earliest pelican fossil on record is a 30-million-year-old skull that was found in the Oligocene deposits of France. Paleontologists have also uncovered younger material from places like Germany, India, Kenya, Peru, Australia, and North Carolina. Today, there are eight living species and you can find some combination of them dwelling on every continent except Antarctica.

THEY DON’T STORE FOOD IN THE POUCH ON THEIR BILLS.

The large, fibrous skin pouch that dangles from a pelican’s bill is called the gular pouch (or, occasionally, the gular sac). Many people mistakenly believe it’s used to store food, like a built-in lunch box. In reality, pelicans use their gular pouches as a means of capturing food—not as a place to keep it tucked away for extended periods. The highly-flexible sacs can expand or contract, and the lower jaw bones they’re connected to are capable of bowing outwards, which enables the birds to use their sacs as fishing nets.

PELICANS DON’T JUST EAT FISH.

In 2006, Londoners were shocked when a pigeon was swallowed whole by a great white pelican in front of some horrified kids at St. James’s Park. Attacks like that aren’t unusual: Although pelicans specialize in eating fish, they also prey on crustaceans, amphibians, turtles, and—yes—other birds. If it can fit down their throats, it’s fair game.

TWO SPECIES PLUNGE-DIVE FOR FOOD.

The brown pelican is a keen-eyed predator that can spot a fish swimming under the ocean’s surface even while flying 60 feet above. Its bigger cousin, the Peruvian pelican, also has great vision. Once a target has been spotted from above, the pelicans plunge into the sea bill-first at high speeds—and often from a height of several stories.
When they collide with the prey, the impact force usually stuns the victim and it’s then scooped up in the gular pouch.

BROWN PELICANS HAVE MADE A REMARKABLE COMEBACK OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS.

The insecticide known as DDT, which rose to prominence during the 1950s and 1960s, infested whole food chains. After it was sprayed on crops, it was consumed by earthworms, and run-off ensured fish got a dose, too. In turn, these animals were transferring the substance to the various birds that ate them. Although DDT didn’t kill many avians directly, it did have a knack for weakening their egg shells. As a result, the populations of many beloved species—including bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and brown pelicans—took a hit, and the brown pelican all but vanished in vast swaths of the country.

A 1938 census had counted 5000 breeding pairs of brown pelicans in Louisiana. But in 1963, not a single brown pelican sighting was recorded within the state. Texas birders observed similar declines. While early declines were caused by hunters and fishermen, these later declines were pinned on industrial pollutants and insecticides like DDT. Then, a badly-needed break came when public outrage drove the Environmental Protection Agency to ban DDT in 1972. Since that time, the brown pelican has reversed its once-gloomy fortunes. Reintroduction campaigns helped the birds bounce back in Louisiana, Texas, and elsewhere. The brown pelican was listed as endangered in 1970, but in 1985, brown pelicans in a few southern states were removed from the list. Then in 2009, the species was taken off the list entirely.