Indian Spot-billed Pelican

The Spot billed pelican or grey pelican with the scientific name of Pelecanus philippensis is commonly found in India. It is one of the large birds which live in islands and coastal water.

The name pelican is derived from the Greek word "pelekys". The quick classification of Grey pelican is as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Pelecanidae
Genus	Pelecanus
Species	Pelecanus philipensis

Physical Characteristics:

The spot billed pelican is a small pelican bird when compared to other pelicans. The body of the spot billed pelican ranges from about 125 to 152 cm (49 to 60 in). The weight of the pelicon is about 4.1 to 6 kg (9 to 13.2 lbs). The wingspan of this pelican ranges about 1 to 3 m.

The body of this pelican is white in colour. It has a crest in grey colour. It has a tail in brown colour and also has a hind neck. The pouch of this bird is pink in colour and also has large pale spots. The bill (nail) of this bird is yellowish orange color. The Spot billed pelican tail is round in shape. The young pelicans are covered in white down. The spots appear on the bill after one year only. The breeding plumage appears in the third year.

The spot billed pelican are very silent when they are in their nest. This species is one of the most vulnerable species which face a high risk of extinction. This spot billed pelican float high on the water and also raise their wings when they are floating.

They used to pull back their head over their shoulders when they are flying and form an S curve. The pelicans fly in a line to their feeding place. This spot billed pelicans hunt alone. It uses its huge bill pouch to catch the fish while swimming at the surface.

Habitat:

The main habitat of the spot billed pelican is shallow lowland fresh water or saline water. It lives in large inland, coastal water, large lakes. It is one of the charismatic bird species. So, it can live in lagoons and fresh water tank also. They inhabit a variety of wetland in open or forested areas.

Migration:

The spot billed pelicans are not migratory in nature. But, it may take some seasonable movements. They may take movements during the non breeding seasons.

Food Habits:

The main food for the spot billed pelicans is fish. They also prefer amphibians and crustaceans which live in the water as their food. In some occasions, it may take some smaller birds as food. They use their throat pouch to catch the fish. Then, they drain their pouch above the surface before they swallow the food. It takes a minute to do this when the other sea birds try to steal the fish.

This spot billed pelicans are commonly found in India. Especially, they are seen in large numbers in kundakulam, a tiny hamlet in Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu. They are also seen in the following bird sanctuaries- Vedanthangal, Karikili, Koonthagulam, Karaivetti, Melaselvanur and Kelaselvanur.

They are also seen in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Because of habitat loss and human disturbance, many spot billed pelicans are now extinct in Southeast Asia.

Population of Spot billed pelicans in India

The spot billion pelican is one of the rarest species in the world. The population of spot billed pelican is estimated to be between 10,000 to 20,000. Later, it has been calculated at 13,000 to 18,000 of late. So, now it has been removed from the list of endangered species.

Mating and Nesting:

The Pelican starts breeding when sufficient water is present in the lakes. The Spot billed Pelican spends 3 to 5 days to get settled. In these days, it searches a nest for its breeding activity. The Pelican develops a yellow skin around its pinkish red eyes. Both female and male pelicans develop this yellow skin with dark brownish spots on its body during this time. The Male Pelican first swings his head up and down to show his interest.

After that, female also does like that. After this, both male and female pelicans clap their bill loudly and bow at each other to show their acknowledgement. Then, the male pelican holds the neck of the female pelican between its mandibles and mounts the female's back and keep its wings spread and outstretched during mating. After the mating is completed, the male release the neck of its partner.

Some of the spot-billed pelican start building the nest after courtship. Both male and female share the nest building work. Male Pelicans collect the material needed to build the nest and the Female pelicans align the material for building the nest. Both male and female are involved in the nest construction. The material for the nest is collected from the ground, plants and older nests. They use small twigs and branches as their nest material.

The Spot-billed Pelican lays the eggs within 5 to 10 days. The clutch size varies from egg to egg. The Spot- billed Pelican starts the incubation when it lays the first egg itself. Both male and female pelicans are involved in the incubation activity.

The incubation period of the spot billed pelican is 25 days to 36 days. In the incubation period, the parent bird covers the entire nest using its wings and does not do any other activities.

Threats and conservation

The most important cause for the loss of spot billed pelican is habitat destruction. These birds rely on the forest habitats for its breeding which is threatened because of logging practices, deforestation, agricultural intensification and aquaculture development. The other reason for the threats are human disturbances at their breeding colonies and wetlands, extensive felling of nesting trees, hunting and poaching of its eggs and chicks, loss of feeding sites and over exploitation of fisheries.

Though many laws are implemented to protect the spot billed pelicans in the countries like India, Sri Lanka, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, the threats for these birds are increasing day by day. Nowadays, variety of conservation is being taken to protect the breeding sites of the spot billed pelicans.

Subspecies of Spot Billed Pelican in India

1. Great White Pelican -Pelecanus onocrotalus
2. Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis

Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus

Great White Pelican is larger in size when compared to spot billed pelican. The weight of the Great white Pelican is 10 kg (22 lbs) and the length of this bird is 160 cm (63 in). The wingspan of this pelican is 280 cm (110 inch). In this species, male pelicans are larger than the female pelicans. The male pelicans have a long beak. But, the female pelicans have shorter and straighter beak. The male pelicans have pinkish skin and the female pelicans have orange skin during the breeding time.

The Dalmatian Pelican is one of the largest pelican bird. The weight of the Dalmatian Pelican is 11 15 kg (24-33 lbs) and the length of this bird is 160–180 cm (63-70 inches). The wingspan of this pelican is 3 m (10 ft). These pelicans migrate only a short distance. It creates an elegant soaring while it takes flight.

Interesting facts about Spot billed Pelicans

1. The Spot billed Pelicans are very silent in nature. But sometimes they make hisses, grunts or may snap their bills.
2. The Pelicans are not found in Antarctica.
3. The eight different species found around the world are Peruvian Pelican, Brown Pelican, American White Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican, Pink-backed Pelican, Spot-billed Pelican, Great White Pelican and Australian Pelican.
4. These species prefer warm climate than the cold one. So, they are mostly found closer to the Equator.
5. Pelicans can hold up to 3 gallons (11.5 liters) of water in their bills.
6. Male pelicans are large in size than the female pelicans.
7. Because of their larger size, they have only very few natural predators.