The Pelican

This is not my backyard! I don't see birds like this at home.

This wonderful funny-looking bird lives along the ocean coast.

I saw it when I went South to visit Lizard.

Its name is Pelican.

Pelican has a big round body


and a long neck


and big flat webbed feet.
But the thing that makes Pelican
special
is its beak.
That loooonnnggg beak has a deep pouch on the bottom.

This is to help Pelican eat fish. First it flies over the water looking down to spy the fish. When it sees a fish, it folds its wings and dives, beak first, down in the water with a big splash!
The Pelican catches the fish in that deep pouch just like you might catch one in a net.

One morning we saw a group of pelicans sitting together on the railing of a dock.
Did you count them? I think there are 21 of them.

Some are using their long beaks to comb through their feathers. It's a good thing they have such long necks or they couldn't reach around with that beak.

Sometimes Pelicans float on the water like ducks.

When they rest they like to be out of the water.

Sometimes they are by themselves,

but mostly they like to be with their friends.
I wish you could see the Pelicans flying (I didn't get a good picture of them). You would think you were seeing a Pterodactyl!