Pink-backed Pelican

Pelecanus rufescens

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFishWetlandPlatform nestHuge · 5.4 kg

ID tip

It is a relatively small pelican, although by no means is it a small bird. Its length is from 125 to 155 cm (49 to 61 in), wingspan is 2.15–2.9 m (7.1–9.5 ft) and body mass is from 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). The bill is 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in) in length. The plumage is grey and white, with a pinkish hue on the back occasionally apparent (never in the deep pink of a flamingo). The top of the bill is yellow and the pouch is usually greyish. Breeding adults have long feather plumes on the head.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Pink-backed Pelican

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Pink-backed Pelican

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 38 countries with regular records, and 12 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Sweden, Spain, Germany, Belgium, United States, Poland, Austria, Angola, Italy, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Réunion.

About the Pink-backed Pelican

The pink-backed pelican is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also been extirpated from Madagascar.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Dalmatian Pelican vs Pink-backed Pelican · Peruvian Pelican vs Pink-backed Pelican · Pink-backed Pelican vs Spot-billed Pelican

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