Question 1

True or false: Pelicans store fish in their throat pouch for later consumption.

Accepted Answer

False. Pelicans use the pouch to catch and immediately swallow fish or carry to young; they do not store food for later use.

Question 2

True or false: A pelican's throat pouch can hold up to three gallons of water.

Accepted Answer

True. The elastic pouch under the beak can hold about 3 gallons, used to trap fish and drain water before swallowing.

Question 3

True or false: The brown pelican dives from the air to catch fish, a behavior unique among pelicans.

Accepted Answer

False. The Peruvian pelican also plunge-dives for fish. Brown and Peruvian pelicans are the only two pelican species that hunt this way, while all others scoop fish while swimming.

Question 4

True or false: Pelicans are only found in North and South America.

Accepted Answer

False. Pelicans inhabit all continents except Antarctica, with species in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia as well.

Question 5

True or false: Pelicans are closely related to storks.

Accepted Answer

False. Pelicans belong to order Pelecaniformes (with cormorants), while storks are in Ciconiiformes; they are not closely related.

Question 6

True or false: Pelicans have webbed feet on only the front three toes.

Accepted Answer

False. Pelicans are totipalmate, meaning all four toes are connected by webbing, unlike most waterfowl that have only three webbed toes.

Question 7

True or false: The Dalmatian pelican weighs over 25 pounds.

Accepted Answer

True. The Dalmatian pelican is the largest pelican, with adults reaching up to 33 pounds, making it one of the heaviest flying birds.

Question 8

True or false: The brown pelican was removed from the U.S. endangered species list in 2009.

Accepted Answer

True. After recovering from DDT-induced population decline, the brown pelican was delisted in 2009, a conservation success.

Pelican Trivia Questions