Friendly pelicans breed better

Captive pelicans that are free to choose their own friendships are more likely to breed successfully on repeated occasions, new research suggests.

BP oil spill cash rebuilds eroded Louisiana pelican island

A Louisiana island that provides a crucial nesting ground for pelicans and other seabirds is being restored to nearly its former size after decades of coastal erosion and a devastating offshore oil spill 10 years ago.

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Pelican

A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys (meaning “axe” and applied to birds that cut wood with their bills or beaks) is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.

Along with the darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, pelicans make up the order Pelecaniformes. Modern pelicans, of which there are eight species, are found on all continents except Antarctica. They primarily inhabit warm regions, though breeding ranges reach 45° south (Australian Pelican, P. conspicillatus) and 60° North (American White Pelicans, P. erythrorhynchos, in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean, oceanic islands, and inland South America.

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