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Dalmatian pelican

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Dalmatian pelican
CITESAppendix I(CITES)[2]
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Pelecanidae
Genus: Pelecanus
Species:
P. crispus
Binomial name
Pelecanus crispus
Bruch,1832
Distribution map of Dalmatian pelican
Breeding
Resident
Non-breeding
Passage
Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) – more than a pink pelican, distinguished by the absence of pink tones in the plumage. On the head and the upper side of the neck are long and twisted curly feathers which form the likeness of a mane. It takes off fairly easily, pushing the water with both feet, but when it has a catch in its throat bag, gets up with difficulty.

TheDalmatian pelican(Pelecanus crispus) is the largest member of thepelicanfamily, and perhaps the world's largestfreshwater bird,although rivaled in weight and length by the largestswans.They are elegantsoaringbirds, withwingspansrivaling those of thegreat albatrosses,and their flocks fly in graceful synchrony. With a range spanning across much ofCentral Eurasia,from theMediterraneanin the West to theTaiwan Straitin the East, and from thePersian Gulfin the South toSiberiain the North, it is a short-to-medium-distancemigrantbetween breeding and overwintering areas. Nosubspeciesare known to exist over its wide range, but based on size differences, aPleistocenepaleosubspecies,P. c. palaeocrispus,has been described fromfossilsrecovered atBinagady,Azerbaijan.

As with other pelicans, the males arelargerthan the females, and likewise their diet is mainlyfish.Their curly nape feathers, grey legs and silvery-white plumage are distinguishing features, and the wings appear solid grey in flight. The adults acquire adrabber plumagein winter, however, when they may be mistaken forgreat white pelicans.Their harshvocalizationsbecome more pronounced during the mating season. They breed across thePalearcticfrom southeasternEuropeto Russia, India and China in swamps and shallow lakes. They usually return to traditional breeding sites, where they are less social than other pelican species. Theirnestsare crude heaps of vegetation, which are placed on islands or on dense mats of vegetation.

The species' numbers underwent a dramatic decline during the 20th century, partly due to land use, disturbance andpoachingactivities. The core population survives in Russia, but in its Mongolian range it is critically endangered. Removal of power lines to preventcollisionsor electrocution and construction of nesting platforms or rafts have reversed declines locally.

Description[edit]

This huge bird is by a slight margin the largest of the pelican species and one of the largest living flying bird species. It measures 160 to 183 cm (5 ft 3 in to 6 ft 0 in) in length, 7.25–15 kg (16.0–33.1 lb) in weight and 245 to 351 cm (8 ft 0 in to 11 ft 6 in) in wingspan.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]Its median weight is around 11.5 kg (25 lb), which makes it perhaps the world's heaviest flying bird species, although the largest individuals among malebustardsandswansmay be heavier than the largest individual Dalmatian pelican.[5][11]More recently, six male Dalmatians were found to average 10.4 kg (23 lb) and four females 8.7 kg (19 lb), around the same average weight as thegreat white pelican(Pelecanus onocrotalus) and slightly lighter than mean body masses from other huge birds such as thetrumpeter swan(Cygnus buccinator) orAndean condor(Vultur gryphus).[12]Reportedly, adult males weighed a median of 10.75 kg (23.7 lb) per another source.[13]A mean estimated body mass for the Dalmatian pelican of 10.9 kg (24 lb) was also published, around the same mass as the aforementioned largest swan and condor.[14]It is either the heaviest or one of the heaviest birds native toEurope,its closest rival in mass beingmute swans(Cygnus olor), which weighs on average around 10.1 kg (22 lb), followed closely by thecinereous vulture(Aegypius monachus) (whose average weight is not known) and thewhooper swans(Cygnus cygnus), averaging at just shy of 9.5 kg (21 lb), and the great white pelican. These same five species are probably rank as the largest flying birds inAsiaas well, alongside theHimalayan vulture(Gyps himalayensis).[5][12]It also appears to have one of the largest wingspans of any living bird, rivaling those of thegreat albatrosses(Diomedeassp., in particular the two largest species, thewandering albatrossandsouthern royal albatross) and the great white pelican. These four species are the only modern birds with verified wingspans that range over 350 cm (11 ft 6 in).[8][10][15][16]

The somewhat similar-lookinggreat white pelicanbroadly overlaps in size but has greater size sexual dimorphism: female great whites can be noticeably smaller than female Dalmatians but male individuals of the two species are essentially the same size and weight.[8][15]However, the Dalmatian differs from this other very large species in that it has curly napefeathers,grey legs and silvery-white (rather than pure white)plumage.In winter, adult Dalmatian pelicans go from silvery-grey to adingierbrownish-grey cream colour.[17]Immature birds are grey and lack the pink facial patch of immature white pelicans. The loose feathers around the forehead of the Dalmatian pelican can form a W-like-shape on the face right above the bill.[15]In the breeding season it has an orange-red lower mandible and pouch against a yellow upper mandible. In winter, the whole bill is a somewhat dull yellow. Thebill,at 36 to 45 cm (14 to 18 in) long, is the second largest of any bird, after theAustralian pelican(Pelecanus conspicillatus).[15]The bare skin around the eye can vary from yellow to purplish in colour.[18]Among standard measurements, compared to the great white pelican, the Dalmatian'starsusis slightly shorter, at 11.6 to 12.2 cm (4.6 to 4.8 in), but itstailandwing chordlength are notably larger, at 22 to 24 cm (8.7 to 9.4 in) long and 68 to 80 cm (27 to 31 in), respectively.[19][20]When the Dalmatian pelican is in flight, unlike other pelicans, its wings are solid grayish-white with black tips.[15]It is an elegant soaring bird. When a whole flock of Dalmatian pelicans is in flight, all its members move in graceful synchrony, their necks held back like aheron's.

The Dalmatian pelican is often silent, as most pelicans tend to be, although it can be fairly vocal during the mating season, when it may engage in a wide range of guttural, deep vocalisations, including barks, hisses and grunts.[17]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The Dalmatian pelican is found in lakes, rivers,deltasandestuaries.Compared to the great white pelican, the Dalmatian is not as tied to lowland areas and will nest in suitable wetlands with many elevations. It is less opportunistic in breeding habitat selection than the great white, usually returning to a traditional breeding site year after year unless it becomes completely unsuitable. During the winter, Dalmatian pelicans usually stay on ice-free lakes in Europe orjheels(seasonal lakes) in India. They also visit, typically during winter, inshore areas along sheltered coasts for feeding.[15]

Movements[edit]

This pelican usuallymigratesshort distances with varying migration patterns during the year.[21]It is dispersive in Europe, based on feeding opportunities, with most western birds staying through the winter in theMediterraneanregion. In theDanube Delta,Dalmatian pelicans arrive in March and leave by the end of August. It is more actively migratory in Asia, where most of the birds that breed in Russia fly down for the winter to the centralMiddle East,largely around Iran through to theIndian Subcontinent,from Sri Lanka, Nepal to central India.[17]The pelicans that breed in Mongolia winter along the east coast of China, including theHong Kongarea.[18]

In general, the species prefers relatively warm temperatures. During periods where the climate was warmer, the Dalmatian pelican was far more widespread in Europe (today its European range is restricted to the southeastern part of the continent). Notably, a large number ofsubfossilbones dating from 7400–5000Before Present(BP), coinciding with theHolocene climatic optimum,have been found inDenmark,and bones dating from 1900–600 BP have been found in central Europe, Netherlands and Britain.[22]This preference for warmer temperatures is also supported by movements recorded in recent history, as there are indications of a slow range expansion in response tomodern climate changes.[22]

Behaviour[edit]

Feeding[edit]

This pelican feeds almost entirely onfish.Preferred prey species can includecommon carp(Cyprinus carpio),European perch(Perca fluviatilis),common rudd(Scardinius erythropthalmus),eels,catfish(especiallysiluridsduring winter),mulletandnorthern pike(Esox lucius), the latter having measured up to 50 cm (20 in) when taken.[15][17]In the largest remnant colony, located in Greece, the preferred prey is reportedly the nativeAlburnus belvica.[18]The Dalmatian pelican requires around 1,200 g (2.6 lb) of fish per day and can take locally abundant smaller fish such asgobies,but usually ignore them in favour of slightly larger fish.[15][17]It usually forages alone or in groups of only two or three. It normally swims along, placidly and slowly, until it quickly dunks its head underwater and scoops the fish out, along with great masses of water. The water is dumped out of the sides of the pouch and the fish is swallowed. Occasionally it may feed cooperatively with other pelicans by corralling fish into shallow waters and may even cooperate similarly while fishing alongsidegreat cormorantsin Greece.[15]Occasionally, the pelican may not immediately eat the fish contained in its gular pouch, so it can save the prey for later consumption.[17]Other small wetlands-dwellers may supplement the diet, includingcrustaceans,worms,beetlesand smallwater birds,usually nestlings and eggs.[17]

Breeding[edit]

Egg, CollectionMuseum Wiesbaden

Among a highly social family in general, Dalmatian pelicans may have the least social inclinations. This species naturally nests in relatively small groups compared to most other pelican species and sometimes may even nest alone. However, small colonies are usually formed, which regularly include upwards of 250 pairs (especially historically). Occasionally, Dalmatian pelicans may mix in with colonies of great white pelicans.[15]Nesting sites selected are usually eitherislandsin large bodies of water (typically lagoons or river deltas[17]) or dense mats of aquatic vegetation, such as extensivereedbedsofPhragmitesandTypha.Due to their large size, these pelicans often trample the vegetation in the area surrounding their nests into the muddy substrate and thus nesting sites may become unsuitably muddy after around three years of usage.[18]

The nest is a moderately-sized pile of grass, reeds, sticks, and feathers, usually measuring about 1 m (3.3 ft) deep and 63 cm (25 in) across. Nests are usually located on or near the ground, often being placed on dense floating vegetation. Nests tend to be flimsy until cemented together by droppings. Breeding commences in March or April, about a month before the great white pelican breeds. The Dalmatian pelican lays a clutch of one to six eggs, with two eggs being the norm. Eggs weigh between 120 and 195 g (4.2 and 6.9 oz).[23]Incubation, which is split between both parents, lasts for 30 to 34 days. The chicks are born naked but soon sprout white down feathers. Aggressive behaviors between siblings are very rare and generally non-fatal. When the young are 6 to 7 weeks of age, the pelicans frequently gather in "pods". The offspring fledge at around 85 days and become independent at 100 to 105 days old. Nesting success relies on local environmental conditions, with anywhere from 58% to 100% of hatchlings successfully surviving to adulthood. Sexual maturity is thought to be obtained at three or four years of age.[15][24]

Predators[edit]

Predation on Dalmatian pelicans is relatively poorly known despite the species' threatened status. Adult birds have no natural enemies and the nesting sites often insure limited nest predation, though carnivorous mammals which eat eggs and nestlings can access nests when water levels are low enough for them to cross, as has been recorded withwild boars(Sus scrofa) destroying nests in Bulgaria.[25]Golden jackals(Canis aureus) are also known to access and destroy nests when water levels are too low and the same is possibly true of other canids such asfoxes,gray wolves(Canis lupus) anddogs(C. l. familiaris), not to mention other predatory animals such as potentiallyEurasian lynxes(Lynx lynx). Some eagles may attack pelicans at colonies, although this is not verified.[26][25][27][28][29]Largegullsare known to be virulent predators of Dalmatian pelican eggs inRussia,AlbaniaandTurkey.[30][31]

Status[edit]

This species of pelican has declined greatly throughout its range, more so than the white pelican. It is possible that up to 10,000–20,000 pelicans exist at the species level.[18]During the 20th century, the species' numbers underwent a dramatic decline for reasons that are not entirely understood. The most likely reason was habitat loss due to human activities such as the drainage of wetlands and land development. Colonies are regularly disturbed by human activity, and, like all pelicans, the parents may temporarily leave their nest if threatened, which then exposes the chicks to the risk of predation. Occasionally, Dalmatian pelicans may be shot by fishermen who believe the birds are dangerously depleting the fish population and hence threatening their livelihood.[17]While such killings are generally on a small scale, the worry that these pelicans over-exploit the fishing stock persists in many locales. Another probable reason for the decline in the species' population is poaching. In Mongolia, the local people clandestinely kill these pelicans to use or sell their bills as pouches.[17]On a typical day in a commercial Mongolian marketplace, as many as fifty pelican bills may be on offer for sale, and they are considered such a rare prize that ten horses and thirty sheep are considered a fair price to trade for a single pelican.[32]Due to exploitation at all stages of the life cycle, the species is critically endangered in its Mongolian range, with a total population of fewer than 130 individual birds.[18][32]Dalmatian pelicans also regularly fly into power-lines and are killed by electrocution.[18]In Greece, pelicans are often so disturbed by power boats, usually ones bearing tourists—that they become unable to feed and die of malnourishment.[15]In 1994 in Europe there were over a thousand breeding pairs, most of them in Greece, but also in Ukraine, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria (Srebarna Nature Reserve) and Albania (Karavasta Lagoon). They have been considered extinct in Croatia since the 1950s, although a single Dalmatian pelican was observed there in 2011.[33]The largest single remaining colony is atSmall Prespa Lake(shared between Albania and Greece), with around 1,600 pairs, with approximately 450 pairs left in theDanube Delta.[18]The country with the largest breeding population today, including about 70% of pairs or possibly over 3,000 pairs, is Russia. Worldwide, there are an estimated 3,000–5,000 breeding pairs.[18]One report of approximately 8,000 Dalmatian pelicans in India turned out to be a congregation of misidentified great white pelicans.[15]

The Dalmatian pelican is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds(AEWA) applies. Conservation efforts have been undertaken on behalf of the species, especially in Europe.[18]Although they normally nest on the ground, Dalmatian pelicans have nested on platforms put out in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania in order to encourage them to breed.[15]Rafts over water have also been set up for the species to use in Greece and Bulgaria.[18]Power-lines have also been marked or dismantled in areas adjacent to colonies in these countries. Additionally, water-level management and educational programs may be aiding them at a local level.[18]Although efforts have been undertaken in Asia, there is a much higher rate of poaching, shooting and habitat destruction there, which may make conservation efforts more difficult.[32]In 2012, when unusually frigid winter conditions caused theCaspian Seato freeze over, it resulted in the death from starvation of at least twenty of the Dalmatian pelicans that overwinter there. Despite local authorities' initial attempts to discourage it, many people there turned out with fish and hand-fed the birds, apparently enabling the huge pelicans to survive the winter.[34]

References[edit]

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  3. ^Birdlife International
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  6. ^Firefly Encyclopedia of Birdsby Christopher Perrins. Firefly Books (2003),ISBN978-1-55297-777-4
  7. ^Ali, Salim (1993).The Book of Indian Birds.Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society.ISBN978-0-19-562167-9.
  8. ^abcHarrison, Peter,Seabirds: An Identification Guide.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1991),ISBN978-0-395-60291-1
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  10. ^abGilbert, M, P; Jarvis, E, D; Li, B; Li, C; The Avian Genome Consortium; Wang, J; Zhang, G (2014):Genomic data of the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus).GigaScience Database.
  11. ^Cramp, S., & Perrins, C. M. (1977). 1994.The birds of the western Palearctic. Vol. 1–9.
  12. ^abCRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Editionby John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008),ISBN978-1-4200-6444-5.
  13. ^Kinney, M. E. (2018).The effects of capture, restraint, and transport on hematologic, plasma biochemical, and blood gas values in Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus).Journal of avian medicine and surgery, 32(2), 95-101.
  14. ^Greenwood, J. J., Gregory, R. D., Harris, S., Morris, P. A., & Yalden, D. W. (1996).Relations between abundance, body size and species number in British birds and mammals.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 351(1337), 265-278.
  15. ^abcdefghijklmndel Hoyo, et al.,Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks.Lynx Edicons (1992),ISBN978-84-87334-10-8
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  18. ^abcdefghijklDalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) – BirdLife species factsheet.Birdlife.org (1998-10-03). Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
  19. ^Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)Archived2013-04-15 atarchive.today.Avis.indianbiodiversity.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
  20. ^Great White Pelican – Pelecanus onocrotalusArchived2013-01-13 atarchive.today.Avis.indianbiodiversity.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
  21. ^Efrat, Ron; Harel, Roi; Alexandrou, Olga; Catsadorakis, Giorgos; Nathan, Ran (2019). "Seasonal differences in energy expenditure, flight characteristics and spatial utilization of Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus in Greece".Ibis.161(2): 415–427.doi:10.1111/ibi.12628.ISSN1474-919X.
  22. ^abNikulina, E.A.; U. Schmölcke (2015). "First archaeogenetic results verify the mid-Holocene occurrence of Dalmatian pelican Pelecanus crispus far out of present range".Journal of Avian Biology.46(4): 344–351.doi:10.1111/jav.00652.
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  25. ^abCrivelli, A. J. (April 1996).Action Plan for the Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) In Europe.europa.eu
  26. ^Catsadorakis, Giorgos. "Artificial Nesting Structures for Eurasian pelicans."
  27. ^Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus).Planet of Birds (2011-06-08). Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
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  29. ^Crivelli, A., & Vizi, O. (1981).The Dalmatian pelican, Pelecanus crispus Bruch 1832, a recently world-endangered bird species.Biological Conservation, 20(4), 297-310.
  30. ^Krivenko, V. G. (1994).Pelicans in the former USSR(Vol. 27). International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau.
  31. ^Peja, N., Sarigul, G., Siki, M., & Crivelli, A. J. (1996).The Dalmatian pelican, Pelecanus crispus, nesting in Mediterranean lagoons in Albania and Turkey.Colonial Waterbirds, 184-189.
  32. ^abcNyambayar, B.; Bräunlich, A.; Tseveenmyadag, N.; Shar, S. & Gantogs, S. (2007)."Conservation of the critically endangered east Asian population of Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus in western Mongolia"(PDF).BirdingASIA.7:68–74. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-07-27.
  33. ^"The Dalmatian Pelican Returns to the Neretva Delta, Croatia".World Migratory Bird Day. 13 May 2013.Retrieved22 February2021.
  34. ^Trapped Dalmatian pelicans hand-fed in frozen Caspian Sea.Bbc.co.uk (2012-02-21). Retrieved on 2012-08-22.

External links[edit]

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