Dalmatian pelican

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is traditionally associated mainly with south-eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, Greece and the Danube delta in Romania, although there are breeding colonies as far east as China. The European populations mostly winter in Egypt. However, numbers of Dalmatian pelicans have declined markedly in recent decades and it is very much a threatened species, being listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Some of the colonies in the Balkan region have been declared extinct.


Appearance

The Dalmatian pelican is slightly bigger than the Great White pelican, having a body length of about 160-180 centimetres (5 to 6 feet). It has a wingspan of 310-350 centimetres (10-11 feet). It weighs between 10 and 13 kilos (22-28 pounds). This makes it the largest pelican species and also one of the heaviest of all flying birds.

Adult birds are greyish-white over most of the body but with an orange tinge on the breast. The feathers on the neck and head are moderately long and curly, thus giving it an “unkempt” appearance. The long bill is grey above but the pouch has an intense orange colour in adults and is pinkish or yellowish in immature birds. The wings have dark tips that are very noticeable in flight. The webbed grey feet are short and strong. Male and female birds have similar plumage.


Habitat

Dalmatian pelicans inhabit inland freshwater wetlands and also coastal lagoons and river deltas. They breed on islands within large reedbeds.


Behaviour and Feeding

Dalmatian pelicans are elegant flyers, often in flocks, with their necks held back in the manner of herons. They feed in groups, on coastal inlets or the open sea.

Dalmatian pelicans feed on fish, of which an adult bird’s daily requirement is about 1.2 kilos (2.5 pounds). Favourite fish species are carp, perch and rudd, plus eels and small pike. They will also eat small birds.

They are very wary of humans and so tend to congregate in inaccessible places.


Breeding

Dalmatian pelicans reach their breeding grounds in March, with nest building starting about a week after arrival. Nests are built on the ground next to water or, more commonly, on floating islands in reedbeds. Copious amounts of reeds, grass and twigs are brought by the male pelican with the female doing most of the nest building. Nests can be up to a metre high and 60 centimetres in diameter. Nests are packed closely together within the colony. When building their nests the birds tend to trample the vegetation between the nests so that the floating islands become damaged and are unusable after a few seasons.

As a rule two eggs are laid, at any time between late March and early May, with both partners taking turns to incubate them. The young generally hatch after 30 to 32 days and are fed at first from food that is regurgitated by the parent birds into the nest. However, later on they will take food directly from the parents’ pouches.

Young Dalmatian pelicans can fly at 12 weeks but are not fully independent until 14 or 15 weeks.


Conservation

As mentioned above, the Dalmatian pelican is an endangered species, due mainly to loss of habitat although hunting has also been a problem, especially as pelicans are seen as a threat to fish stocks. Other threats come from over-eager birdwatchers and overhead power lines.

Within Europe, the two main breeding populations are in Greece (about 700 pairs) and Romania (500 pairs). A major project was undertaken in 2005-09 to stabilise the population in Romania. This included the protection of existing nesting sites and efforts to reduce conflict between the pelicans and local residents, for example by developing farmed fish for purely human consumption.

The results of the project have been encouraging, but work continues to monitor pelican numbers and to track individual birds so that threats away from the breeding areas can be identified.

© John Welford