The American White Pelican's distinctive feature is, of course, its pouch. The pouch can hold about 11.3 litres of water, which would weigh about 24 pounds! Its stomach can only hold about 3.8 litres--in theory. In practice, birds don't drink a lot of water.
This species of pelican has a wingspan of about three metres, or nine feet, and it can fly three hundred miles in a single day.
The pelicans fly thousands of miles from where they hang out for the winter, in Southern California, all along the coast of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.
This exquisite photo (copyright Steve Hiscock) shows a pelican cruising along Saskatoon's weir at dusk. A peaceful sight!
