Natalie Shahater, 31, aproaches a brown Pelican at the Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday, July 1, 2008. Pelicans are a large, gregarious aquatic bird of warm regions, allied to the cormorants and gannets. They are heavy-bodied, long-necked birds with large, flat bills. Pelicans are graceful swimmers and fliers, often seen flying in long lines or circling at great heights. The pelicans are indeed famous for their beaks, which they fill with huge gulps of water, strain out the liquid, and eat the remaining fish or squid. The California brown pelican is strictly an ocean bird.
"Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I
know how the helican."
Dixon Lanier Merritt
(1879-1972)