Pelecanus occidentalis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	Pelecaniformes	Pelecanidae

Scientific Name:

Pelecanus occidentalis

Species Authority:

Linnaeus, 1766

Common Name/s:

English

–

Brown Pelican

Taxonomic Notes:

Pelecanus occidentalis and P. thagus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) previously lumped into P. occidentalis following SACC (2005), are now considered distinct species following SACC (2007).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Assessed:	2008
Assessor/s	BirdLife International
Evaluator/s:	Bird, J., Butchart, S. & Gilroy, J. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Pelecanus occidentalis inhabits shallow inshore waters, estuaries and bays in the Americas, breeding along the Pacific coast from California (USA) to Chile and along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina (USA) through the West Indies to Venezuela, ranging as far as Canada and Tierra del Fuego (Chile) in the non-breeding season. It has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 2,400,000 km². The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as 'fairly common' in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Range Description:

Pelecanus occidentalis inhabits shallow inshore waters, estuaries and bays in the Americas, breeding along the Pacific coast from California (USA) to Chile and along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina (USA) through the West Indies to Venezuela, ranging as far as Canada and Tierra del Fuego (Chile) in the non-breeding season. It has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 2,400,000 km². The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as 'fairly common' in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Systems:	Marine

Systems:

Marine

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Pelecanus occidentalis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 July 2009.
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