Spot-billed Pelican

The Spot-billed pelican is 125 to 152 centimetres in length and weighs 4.1 to 6 kilograms, the wingspan is 250 centimetres.

The colors and other details of the main topographical elements are listed below...

Beak: long yellow beak with spots on the upper mandible with flat pink to purple skin with large spots hanging with also a nail at the tip of the beak in yellow to orange, the breeding Spot-billed pelican has dark skin at the base, hatched Spot-billed pelican don't have spots on the beak.

Head: black spots in breeding Spot-billed pelicans, the head is normally grey or white with a small grey crest, in young it is greyish speckled or white down.

Iris: Black.

Pupil: Black.

Lesser coverts: White, young Spot-billed pelicans are white down and then appears greyish speckled.

Scapulars: White, young Spot-billed pelicans are white down and then appears greyish speckled.

Coverts: White, young Spot-billed pelicans are white down and then appears greyish speckled.

Tertials: White, young Spot-billed pelicans are white down and then appears greyish speckled.

Rump: White.

Primaries: White, young Spot-billed pelicans are white down and then appears greyish speckled.

Vent: White.

Thigh: White.

Belly: White.

Flanks: White.

Breast: White.

They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum is Chordata, the Class is Aves, the Order is Pelecaniformes, the Family is Pelecanidae, the Genus is Pelecanus, the Binomial name is Pelecanus philippensis.

Extra Details
The hindneck is curly which makes a greyish nape crest and the tail is brownish. The breeding Spot-billed pelican has a pink orbital patch. The pouch of the beak of the Spot-billed pelican can carry three gallons of water.

Young Spot-billed pelicans get adult breeding plumage in the third year.

The secondaries of the wings are white on the upper-half of the wing and black on the lower-half of the wing.

Sounds
The Spot-billed pelican is silent but makes hisses, grunts and snaps with their beaks at nests.

The Spot-billed pelican catches fish in its bill pouch while swimming at the surface. The Spot-billed pelican fishs singly or in small flocks. Groups of Spot-billed pelicans line up and drive fish to the shallows.

The Spot-billed pelicans that are flying to their roosts or feeding areas form small groups in formation with steady flapping. In the hot times, the Spot-billed pelican soars on thermals. The Spot-billed pelican can forage at night.

The Spot-billed pelican cools itself using gular fluttering and panting.

Diet
The Spot-billed pelican easts mainly frogs, fish, snakes, crustaceans and small birds.

Habitat
The Spot-billed pelican breeds in peninsular India. The Spot-billed pelican lives in shallow lowland freshwaters, large inland waters and coastal waters, the Spot-billed pelican makes movements and are widely distributed in the non-breeding season.

The Spot-billed pelican breeds in colonies with other waterbirds. The nests of the Spot-billed pelican are on low trees near wetlands and human habitations.

Breeding & Nesting
The nest of the Spot-billed pelican is a platform of twigs on a low tree. The breeding season is October to May. The breeding season in Tamil Nadu comes on the onset of the northeast monsoon.

The display of the adult male Spot-billed pelican is a distention of the pouch with swinging motions of the head up and down with sideway swings and holding the head on the back, the display of the adult male Spot-billed pelican might include bill claps while swaying it's head.

The Spot-billed pelican nests near painted storks. The adult female Spot-billed pelican lays three to four chalky white eggs. The eggs of the adult female Spot-billed pelican become dirty by time.

The eggs of the adult female Spot-billed pelican hatch in 30 to 33 days. The young Spot-billed pelican live inside or around the nest for three to five months. The Spot-billed pelican is monogamous.

In Culture
The Spot-billed pelican was used by fishermen in eastern Bengal as decoys for fish. It was believed that an oily secretion attracted fish such as Colisa and Anabas.

Threats, Predators & Conservation Status
The population of the Spot-billed pelican is between 8700 to 12000, their conservation status is listed as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List. They live around 31 years.

The major threats to them are habitat loss and human disturbance.