Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird found in United States and Mexico. Ocean coasts and bays. It nests on islands. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and dead animals (carrion). The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Pelecanus occidentalis
Region	South America
Found in	United States and Mexico

🏡 Where the Brown Pelican lives

Ocean coasts and bays. It nests on islands.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish80%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%
🦴 Leftovers (carrion)10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It dives from the sky into the sea, scooping up fish in its pouch.

Hear the Brown Pelican

Recorded by Judith PRIAM (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC357928. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Brown Pelican

Where does the Brown Pelican live?

The Brown Pelican lives in United States and Mexico. Ocean coasts and bays. It nests on islands.

What does the Brown Pelican eat?

fish (about 80%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), dead animals (carrion) (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Brown Pelican endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from South America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.