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Discover Nature (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Discover Nature: American White Pelicans

KBIA | By Kyle Felling
Published October 17, 2019 at 8:41 AM CDT
5 American white pelicans fly low, from right to left, with wings spread, along the surface of a body of water.
American white pelicans skimming the water’s surface. In Missouri, the American white pelican is a common transient on large lakes, reservoirs, and marshes. Watch for these birds migrating through Missouri this week as they fly south for the winter.";

This week on Discover Nature, watch for American white pelicans flying south for the winter.

 

The white pelican is a large waterbird – often growing to more than five feet long, with a wingspan of up to nine feet.  

 

White pelicans migrate through Missouri in spring and fall between their summer breeding grounds in the northwest, and their winter territories to the south. Many more of them migrate through western Missouri than the eastern half of the state. 

 

During migration, white pelicans fly in formation, high in the air. They descend to hunt in shallow waters, dipping their heads under the surface to scoop up fish, crawfish, tadpoles, and other aquatic animals. Groups of pelicans sometimes hunt cooperatively, herding fish into a concentrated pack. 

 

As predators, pelicans help to control populations of aquatic species, though they rarely compete with humans for game fish.  

 

Learn more about these migratory birds, and find public lands near you to watch them in the wild with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) online field guide.  

 

 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
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Kyle Felling
Kyle Felling’s work at KBIA spans more than three decades. In 2025, he became KBIA and KMUC's Station Manager. He began volunteering at the station while he was a Political Science student at the University of Missouri. After being hired as a full-time announcer, he served as the long-time local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on KBIA, and was Music Director for a number of years. Starting in 2010, Kyle became KBIA’s Program Director, overseeing on-air programming and operations while training and supervising the station’s on-air staff. During that period, KBIA regularly ranked among the top stations in the Columbia market, and among the most listened to stations in the country. He was instrumental in the launch of KBIA’s sister station, Classical 90.5 FM in 2015, and helped to build it into a strong community resource for classical music. Kyle has also worked as an instructor in the MU School of Journalism, training the next generation of journalists and strategic communicators. In his spare time, he enjoys playing competitive pinball, reading comic books and Joan Didion, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and listening to Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band.
See stories by Kyle Felling
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