Spot-billed Pelican
Encyclopedia
The Spot-billed Pelican or Grey Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) is a member of the pelican
family. It breeds in southern Asia
from southern Pakistan
across India
east to Indonesia
. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.
-_adult_with_immatures_at_nest_in_garapadu,_ap_w_img_5283.jpg)
The Spot-billed Pelican is a relatively small pelican but still a large bird. It is 125–152 cm (49–60 in) long and a weight of 4.1–6 kg (9-13.2 lbs). It is mainly white, with a grey crest, hindneck and a brownish tail. The feathers on the hind neck are curly and form a greyish nape crest. The pouch is pink to purplish and has large pale spots, and is also spotted on the sides of the upper mandible. The tip of the bill (or nail) is yellow to orange. In breeding plumage, the skin at the base of the beak is dark and the orbital patch is pink. In flight they look not unlike the Dalmatian Pelican but the tertials and inner secondaries are darker and a pale band runs along the greater coverts. The tail is rounder.
The newly hatched young are covered in white down. They then moult into a greyish speckled plumage. The spots on the bill appear only after a year. The full adult breeding plumage appears in their third year.
This species is a colonial breeder, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds. The nests are on low trees near wetlands and sometimes near human habitations. Many large breeding colonies have been recorded and several have disappeared over time. In June 1906, C E Rhenius visited a colony in Kundakulam in Tirunelveli district
where the villages considered the birds semi-sacred. The same colony was revisited in 1944, and was found to have about 10 nests of pelicans and nearly 200 nests of Painted Stork.
The Sittang River in Burma was said by E W Oates
to have "millions" of pelicans in 1877 and in 1929 E C Stuart Baker reported that they were still nesting in thousands along with Greater Adjutant
Storks:
_at_garapadu,_ap_w_img_5369.jpg)
This colony was however reported by B E Smythies
to have disappeared between the 1930s and the 1940s.
Another colony was discovered in 1902 at a village called Buchupalle in the Cudappah district, where these pelicans nested along with Painted Storks during the month of March. This colony was never traced again. The Kolleru Lake
colony was discovered by K K Neelakantan in 1946. Nearly 3000 pelicans nested in this colony at the time of discovery. This colony however disappeared around 1975.
Due to habitat loss and human disturbance, the Spot-billed Pelican's numbers have declined and many populations in Southeast Asia are now extinct. The specific name refers to the Philippines, where the species was abundant in the early 1900s but declined and become locally extinct in the 1960s. Estimates suggest that increased protection has since enabled a recovery in their numbers and the status of the species was changed from Vulnerable to Near Threatened in the 2007 IUCN Red List
.
_landing_with_nesting_material_at_nest_with_chicks_w2_img_2857.jpg)
They are very silent although at their nests they can make hisses, grunts or snap their bills. Some early descriptions of nesting colonies have claimed them to be distinctive in their silence but most have noted colonies as noisy.
Like most other pelicans, it catches fish in its huge bill pouch while swimming at the surface. Unlike the Great White Pelican it does not form large feeding flocks and is usually found to fish singly or in small flocks. Groups may however sometimes line up and drive fish towards the shallows. When flying to their roosts or feeding areas, small groups fly in formation with steady flapping. During the hot part of the day, they often soar on thermals.
The birds nest in colonies and the nest is a thick platform of twigs placed on a low tree. The breeding season varies from October to May. In Tamil Nadu, the breeding season follows the onset of the Northeast Monsoon. The courtship display of the males involves a distention of the pouch with swinging motions of the head up and down followed by sideways swings followed by the head being held back over the back. Bill claps may also be produced during the head swaying movements. The nests are usually built alongside other colonial waterbirds, particularly Painted Stork
s. Three to four chalky white eggs is the usual clutch. The eggs become dirty with age. Eggs hatch in about 30–33 days. The young stay in or near the nest from three to five months. In captivity the young are able to breed after two years. Like other pelicans, they cool themselves using gular fluttering and panting.
_in_uppalapadu,_ap_w_img_3330.jpg)
This species was once used by fishermen in parts of eastern Bengal as decoys for certain fish. These fishermen believed that an oily secretion from the bird attracted certain fish such as Colisa
and Anabas
.
The propensity of these birds to nest close to human habitations has been noted from the time of T C Jerdon
:
Several colonies have since been discovered and while many of these have vanished others have been protected and a few villages with nesting colonies have become popular tourist attractions. Some famous villages include Kokrebellur
and Uppalapadu
.
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
family. It breeds in southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
from southern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
across India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
east to Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.
Description
The newly hatched young are covered in white down. They then moult into a greyish speckled plumage. The spots on the bill appear only after a year. The full adult breeding plumage appears in their third year.
Habitat, distribution and status
The species is found to breed only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka and in Cambodia. A few birds from India are known to winter in the Gangetic plains but reports of its presence in many other parts of the region such as the Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh has been questioned. The main habitat is in shallow lowland freshwaters. The Spot-billed Pelican is not migratory but are known to make local movements and are more widely distributed in the non-breeding season.Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...
where the villages considered the birds semi-sacred. The same colony was revisited in 1944, and was found to have about 10 nests of pelicans and nearly 200 nests of Painted Stork.
The Sittang River in Burma was said by E W Oates
Eugene William Oates
Eugene William Oates was an English naturalist.Oates was born in Sicily and educated in Bath, England. For a time he attended Sydney College, Bath and later under private tutors. He was a civil servant in the Public Works Department in India and Burma from 1867 to 1899...
to have "millions" of pelicans in 1877 and in 1929 E C Stuart Baker reported that they were still nesting in thousands along with Greater Adjutant
Greater Adjutant
The Greater Adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the Lesser Adjutant of Asia and the Marabou Stork of Africa...
Storks:
Bertram E. Smythies
Bertram Evelyn Smythies was a British forester and ornithologist.Smythies was born in India, to E. A. Smythies, silviculturist of Uttar Pradesh and, in the 1940s, Chief Conservator of Forest of Nepal, and his wife, Olive, well-known author of The Tiger Lady...
to have disappeared between the 1930s and the 1940s.
Another colony was discovered in 1902 at a village called Buchupalle in the Cudappah district, where these pelicans nested along with Painted Storks during the month of March. This colony was never traced again. The Kolleru Lake
Kolleru Lake
Kolleru Lake is a large freshwater lake located in Andhra Pradesh state, India. Kolleru is located between Krishna and Godavari delta. Kolleru spans into two districts - Krishna and West Godavari. The lake serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for these two rivers...
colony was discovered by K K Neelakantan in 1946. Nearly 3000 pelicans nested in this colony at the time of discovery. This colony however disappeared around 1975.
Due to habitat loss and human disturbance, the Spot-billed Pelican's numbers have declined and many populations in Southeast Asia are now extinct. The specific name refers to the Philippines, where the species was abundant in the early 1900s but declined and become locally extinct in the 1960s. Estimates suggest that increased protection has since enabled a recovery in their numbers and the status of the species was changed from Vulnerable to Near Threatened in the 2007 IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
.
Behaviour and ecology
Like most other pelicans, it catches fish in its huge bill pouch while swimming at the surface. Unlike the Great White Pelican it does not form large feeding flocks and is usually found to fish singly or in small flocks. Groups may however sometimes line up and drive fish towards the shallows. When flying to their roosts or feeding areas, small groups fly in formation with steady flapping. During the hot part of the day, they often soar on thermals.
The birds nest in colonies and the nest is a thick platform of twigs placed on a low tree. The breeding season varies from October to May. In Tamil Nadu, the breeding season follows the onset of the Northeast Monsoon. The courtship display of the males involves a distention of the pouch with swinging motions of the head up and down followed by sideways swings followed by the head being held back over the back. Bill claps may also be produced during the head swaying movements. The nests are usually built alongside other colonial waterbirds, particularly Painted Stork
Painted Stork
The Painted Stork is a large wading bird in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in South Asia and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters...
s. Three to four chalky white eggs is the usual clutch. The eggs become dirty with age. Eggs hatch in about 30–33 days. The young stay in or near the nest from three to five months. In captivity the young are able to breed after two years. Like other pelicans, they cool themselves using gular fluttering and panting.
In culture
Colisa
Trichogaster is a small genus of tropical or subtropical Asian freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami family. Species of this genus are popular aquarium fishes...
and Anabas
Anabas
Anabas also called climbing perch or Ikan Puyu is a genus of the bone fishes from familia from perciform fish.-Description:Fresh-water fishes have the length up to 20 cm. Anabas reside in both brackish and fresh water....
.
The propensity of these birds to nest close to human habitations has been noted from the time of T C Jerdon
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
:
Several colonies have since been discovered and while many of these have vanished others have been protected and a few villages with nesting colonies have become popular tourist attractions. Some famous villages include Kokrebellur
Kokrebellur
Kokkarebellur, usually shortened by the colloquial usage to Kokrebellur, is a village in Maddur taluk of Mandya district of Karnataka, India. The village is named after the Painted Stork called “Kokkare” in Kannada language. It is situated near Maddur between the cities of Mysore and Bangalore...
and Uppalapadu
Uppalapadu
Uppalapadu is a village near Guntur City, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is also a reputed bird sanctuary..- Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary :...
.