Bird Guide

Australian Pelican vs Peruvian 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
Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus)

Peruvian Pelican

Pelecanus thagus

Huge3.4 kgMarine

These birds are dark in colour with a white stripe from the top of the bill up to the crown and down the sides of the neck. They have long tufted feathers on the top of their heads. It was previously considered a subspecies of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). The Peruvian pelican is considerably larger, ranging from about 5 to 7 kg (11–15 lb) in weight, 137 to 152 cm (4.5–5.0 ft) in length and with a wingspan of about 228 cm (7.5 ft).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: nebrooks · 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 Peruvian Pelican.