Dalmatian pelican

Pelecanus crispus

One of the world's largest pelicans, with pale gray-white plumage, curly nape feathers, and a huge orange pouch in breeding season.

Key facts

Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Pelecaniformes · Pelecanidae.
Primary habitats are freshwater · coast, with a range across Palearctic · Indomalayan.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is herd, and conservation status is NT (Near Threatened).
One of the world's largest pelicans, with pale gray-white plumage, curly nape feathers, and a huge orange pouch in breeding season.
Ranges from southeastern Europe to Central Asia on lakes, estuaries, deltas, and coastal lagoons.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Ranges from southeastern Europe to Central Asia on lakes, estuaries, deltas, and coastal lagoons.

The body is massive and gray-white with broad wings. Curled nape feathers and an orange breeding pouch are distinctive.

Groups swim together and drive fish into shallow water. Despite its size, it soars efficiently on thermals.

Fish are the main food, scooped with the large throat pouch, often in cooperative feeding groups.

Colonies nest in reedbeds or on islands, where water-level shifts and disturbance can easily disrupt breeding.

Wetland degradation and disturbance caused declines, though protected breeding sites have helped some populations recover.