Brown Pelican by WillemSvdMerwe on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

First of all, I'm indebted to icon for the reference photo I used for this painting. See the original here:

dracoflameus.deviantart.com/ar…

And please look at the rest of her gallery!

The Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, occurs on the eastern and western coastline of both North and South America. In North America, it's easily distinguished from the only other pelican that occurs there, the American White Pelican, by its dark coloration. It is also smaller. In South America, the very similar Peruvian Pelican can be distinguished by its larger size. Along with the Peruvian Pelican, this is the only pelican that dives from the sky to catch fish! Just before entering the water, these pelicans pull their wings close in to their bodies and stretch out their necks. Their big throat pouches make handy 'nets' for catching the fish in! Acrylic.