Bird Name: Dalmatian Pelican
Scientific Name: Pelecanus crispus
Camera: Canon 400D, 100-400IS Lens
Place: Jamnagar, Gujarat
The bird received its name from the population found in Dalmatia, a region in south part of modern Croatia. In 1950 it was believed to be extinct from the area, due to uncontrolled hunting & fishing activities. Croatian ornithologists rediscovered the bird near Neretva River in Croatia about a decade later.
Pelicans have a layer of special fibers deep in the breast muscles which can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus they can exploit thermals to commute over 150 km to feeding areas. Pelicans rub the backs of their heads on their preen glands to pick up their oily secretion, which they transfer to their plumage to waterproof it.
A folktale from ancient India, says that a pelican killed her young by rough treatment but was then so contrite that she resurrected them with her own blood. Theories like this may have arisen because pelicans look as if they are stabbing themselves as they often press their bill into their chest to fully empty their pouch. Other possibilities are that they often rest their bills on their breasts, and Dalmatian Pelican has a blood-red pouch in the early breeding season.
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