Bird Guide

Australian Pelican vs Great White Pelican

Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)

Australian Pelican

Pelecanus conspicillatus

Huge5.5 kgWetland

The Australian pelican is medium-sized by pelican standards, with a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 ft). Weight can range from 4 to 13 kg (8.8 to 28.7 lb), although most of these pelicans weigh between 4.54 and 7.7 kg (10.0 and 17.0 lb). The average weight of four unsexed Australian pelicans was 5.5 kg (12 lb), making this the second heaviest Australian flying bird species on average, after the brolga, although the male of the more sexually dimorphic Australian bustard weighs a bit more at average and maximum weights (both birds are, of course, much smaller than the cassowary and emu).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Australian Pelican
Recorded by Rob Nicholson · Call · Sandy Camp Road Wetlands Reserve (near Wynnum West), Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Kathleen · CC BY 4.0
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)

Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

Huge9.3 kgWetland

The great white pelican is a huge bird—only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. It measures 140 to 180 cm (55 to 71 in) in length with a 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures 226 to 360 cm (7 ft 5 in to 11 ft 10 in), the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Pelican and Great White Pelican.