Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidental) 





World Breeding Range 



The Brown Pelican is one of the most 

 conspicuous and easily [identified members of the 

 marine avifauna of California. It is included on the 

 endangered species list of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. In California, Brown Pelicans are slowly 

 increasing in number, but their continued recovery 

 is uncertain. 



The large number of Brown Pelicans in 

 California during summer, fall, and early winter 

 belies the actually small breeding population. 

 Many birds migrate northward from Mexico after 

 breeding in spring. These birds feed and molt in 

 California and southern Oregon before returning 

 to Mexico in early winter. 



Brown Pelicans in California and Baja 

 California, Mexico, build large stick nests on the 

 ground (Gress 1970). The lusterless, white eggs 

 are incubated by adult pelicans using their webbed 

 feet; a habit characteristic of many birds in the 

 order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, boobies, cormo- 

 rants, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds). Brown 

 Pelicans feed by making spectacular plunges into 

 the water. Throughout their range, fish are the 

 chief food|(Palmer 1962). The Northern Anchovy 

 (Anderson et al. 1975, 1980) makes up nearly the 

 entire diet of breeding birds in California. 



Reproductive success of Brown Pelicans can 

 vary markedly from year to year. Changes in 

 oceanographic conditions and in the distribution 

 and abundance of forage fish are two interrelated 

 factors that may account for this fluctuation. 



CALIFORNIA COLONIES 



Brown Pelicans breed regularly in California 

 only on West Anacapa Island (502 007). In 



recent years they have also nested intermittently 

 on Santa Barbara Island (524 008) and Scorpion 

 Rock (502 010). 



HISTORICAL STATUS AND VULNERABILITY 



The California breeding range of the Brown 

 Pelican formerly extended as far north as Bird 

 Island (454 009) near Monterey. Pelicans have 

 bred only sporadically on this island since the 

 colony was discovered in 1927, and the last 

 successful nesting attempt was in 1959 (Williams 

 1927, Baldridge 1973). 



Historically, West Anacapa Island has been 

 the island most consistently used for nesting 

 by Brown Pelicans in California. Before 1929, 

 birds nested primarily on East Anacapa Island but 

 establishment of a lighthouse there likely caused 

 the breeding population to shift to West Anacapa 

 Island. Population estimates for Brown Pelicans 

 on Anacapa Island have fluctuated considerably 

 over the years and are summarized by Anderson 

 and Anderson (1976) and Hunt et al. (1979). 

 Historical records also exist of Brown Pelicans 

 nesting on Prince Island (501 004), Santa Cruz 

 Island, and Santa Barbara Island (524 008). 

 Brown Pelicans were last recorded nesting on 

 Prince Island in 1939 (Sumner 1939). The only 

 record of pelicans nesting on Santa Cruz Island 

 was made by Wright in 1909 (Willett 1912), 

 although up to 160 birds have nested on nearby 

 Scorpion Rock (502 010) in 1972, 1974, and 

 1975 (Anderson and Anderson 1976). Brown 

 Pelicans were first observed breeding on Santa 

 Barbara Island in 1911 (Willett 1912) and have 

 nested intermittently there until 1980 (Gress 



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