Brown Pelican in the evening light
Pelecanus occidentalis
Brown Pelican · San Diego · 6 March 2026
A Brown Pelican in the evening light at La Jolla, in full breeding plumage: red gular pouch, dark belly, the wine-coloured stripe down the back of the neck. The low sun turns the underside gold rather than the usual flat grey-white.
The plumage is at its richest for a few weeks around nesting; by midsummer the pouch fades and the neck goes back to white. The pouch itself holds three gallons, more than the stomach, and the bird drains it before swallowing the fish.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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