Dalmatian pelican
| Dalmatian pelican | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Pelecanidae |
| Genus: | Pelecanus |
| Species: | P. crispus |
| Binomial name | |
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Pelecanus crispus Bruch, 1832 |
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The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is a massive member of the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe to India and China in swamps and shallow lakes. The nest is a crude heap of vegetation.
No subspecies are known to exist over its wide range, but based on size differences, a paleosubspecies, Pelecanus crispus palaeocrispus, has been described from fossils recovered at Binagady, Azerbaijan.
This huge bird is by a slight margin the largest of the pelican species and one of the largest living bird species. It measures 160 to 183 cm (5 ft 3 in to 6 ft 0 in) in length, 7.25–15 kg (16.0–33.1 lb) in weight and 245 to 351 cm (8 ft 0 in to 11 ft 6 in) in wingspan. Its median weight is around 11.5 kg (25 lb), which makes it perhaps the world's heaviest flying bird species, although the largest individuals among male bustards and swans may be heavier than the largest individual Dalmatian pelican. More recently, six male Dalmatians were found to average 10.4 kg (23 lb) and four females 8.7 kg (19 lb), around the same average weight as the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and slightly lighter than mean body masses from other huge birds such as the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) or Andean condor (Vultur gryphus). A mean estimated body mass for the Dalmatian pelican of 10.9 kg (24 lb) was also published, around the same mass as the afforementioned largest swan and condor. It is either the heaviest or one of the heaviest birds native to Europe, its closest rivals in mass being mute swans (Cygnus olor) and cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus), which both weigh on average around 10 kg (22 lb), followed closely by great white pelicans and the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus). It also appears to have one of the largest wingspans of any living bird, rivaling those of the great albatrosses (Diomedea ssp., in particular the two largest species, the wandering albatross and southern royal albatross) and the great white pelican. These four species are the only modern birds with verified wingspans that range over 350 cm (11 ft 6 in)
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Wikipedia