Brown Pelican

An unmistakable bird of coastal waters, groups of Brown Pelicans fly low over the waves in single file, flapping and gliding in unison.

Their feeding behavior is spectacular, as they plunge headlong into the water in pursuit of fish. The current abundance of this species in the United States represents a success story for conservationists, who succeeded in halting the use of DDT and other persistent pesticides here; as recently as the early 1970s, the Brown Pelican was seriously endangered.