The pink pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) is a species of pelican. It is one of the most common and widespread pelicans. He can be found in a large part of Southeast Europe, Africa, West & Central Asia and India.
An adult bird has a white robe, often with an orange-pink tinge (especially during the breeding season). The forechest is yellow. The flapping pens in adults are black, and in flight clearly visible, contrasting with the other white feathers on the underside. In juvenile pink pelicans, the mantle is brown and grey, and the underside is ash-grey. They get whiter as they get older. The juvenile animals have a dark wing front edge. The beak is greyish yellow, and the large throat sac is bright yellow, orange or pinkish white. At the end of the upper beak there is a sharp hook. The short legs are orange-pink. There is a flipper between the four toes. The eyes are dark brown and surrounded by naked yellow-pink skin. A pink pelican in breeding plumage has a crest and a yellow neckline in addition to the pink hint over the plumage, and the colours of the beak and throat sac become brighter. The bald skin around the eyes also swells up. It is about 140 to 178 cm long and 9 to 11 kg heavy. The wingspan is 270 to 360 cm[2]. Females are smaller than males. The beak is 29 to 47 cm long.
Photographed in Ouwehands Dierenpark
We are Loek and Karin Lobel, and our passion is animal photography, both in the wild and in zoos.
We are loek en Karin Lobel and we love to take pictures in the wild but also in the Zoo...
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