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Discover Nature: American White Pelicans

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.

Kyle Felling was born in the rugged northwest Missouri hamlet of St. Joseph (where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended). Inspired from a young age by the spirit of the early settlers who used St. Joseph as an embarkation point in their journey westward, Kyle developed the heart of an explorer and yearned to leave for adventures of his own. Perhaps as a result of attending John Glenn elementary school, young Kyle dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but was disheartened when someone told him that astronauts had to be good at math. He also considered being a tow truck driver, and like the heroes of his favorite childhood television shows (The A-Team and The Incredible Hulk) he saw himself traveling the country, helping people in trouble and getting into wacky adventures. He still harbors that dream.
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