Brown Pelican Calls (Learn 3 Sounds)
If you are along the coast in North America, you may get the chance to see the Brown Pelican.
Brown Pelican CALLS:
- Make sure to press PLAY on the audio files below. 🙂
Sound #1: Adults Calling
Brown Pelicans are mostly silent birds except for when food is involved. Listening to this clip, you can hear a lot going on. The Brown Pelicans are begging for fish and scraps from the fishermen. You can hear a begging, high-pitched celebration after scooping up fish, and their wing beats as they fly off with their dinner.
Sound #2: Begging (East Coast)
Sounding a lot like cats fighting this is an excited chick begging for food. Brown Pelican parents care for their young together. For the first month and a half, one parent is always with the nest to protect the helpless chicks.
Sound #3: Begging (West Coast)
It is not uncommon for the same species of bird to sound slightly different from their counterparts across the country. This Brown Pelican call is once again chicks begging for food. Brown Pelican parents share the responsibility of incubating eggs. They use their large webbed feet to stand on the eggs during incubation. This almost caused their extinction during the DDT crisis.
Lastly, Brown Pelicans put their throat pouch to good use when defending territory or chicks by snapping their bills together and causing a loud ‘pop’ to resonate in their throat pouch.
Have you heard the calls and sounds of a Brown Pelican before?
If so, please let us know below!