BREEDING CONDITION PELICAN

By the time white pelicans arrive in Morgan and Weld Counties in early spring, they are already in high breeding plumage with lacy crests and decorative nuptial knobs on their bills. The knobs are shed like deer antlers after the breeding season.

FALL PELICAN IN FLIGHT

This post-breeding pelican lacks the nuptial knob that it sported in the spring.

WHITE PELICAN NAVAL REVIEW

Despite the ridiculous bill, there is something regal about a pelican on the water. Unlike their dive-bombing brown pelican counterparts, white pelicans feed by teamwork, crowding carp into natural barriers or by encirclement.

YEARLING WHITE PELICAN (NON-BREEDER)

Non-breeding pelicans from the previous year's hatch tag along with the adults during the breeding season. They hang around the shorelines of northeast Colorado irrigation reservoirs and can be distinguished from breeding adults by the lack of mandibular