Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

A twelve foot wingspan in flight

Numbers

Weight: 25,2 lbaverage for males at Lake Edward; females 17 lb. Males weigh 20 to 33 lb, females 12 to 20 lb
Length: 63 infrom 55 to 71 in; males average 69 in, females 58 in
Lifespan: 15 yearsfrom 10 to 25 years in the wild
Wingspan: 12 ftmaximum value, range is 7.5 to 12 feet
Beak length: 18,5 inin the largest specimens
Maximum male weight: 33 lbamong the heaviest flying birds in Africa

its wingspan stretches from seven and a half feet to twelve feet, making it one of the widest in the entire bird world.
together with the dalmatian pelican, it is the largest pelican species alive on our planet today.
the male can weigh thirty percent more than the female, which is the most dramatic size difference among pelican species.
at Lake Edward in Uganda, fifty-two males weighed by researchers had an average weight of twenty-five pounds.
before swallowing a fish, it empties its throat pouch by pushing out the trapped water through a slit in its beak.
groups of six or eight birds form a horseshoe shape in the water and flap their wings to corner fish together.
in the largest males, the beak can reach up to eighteen inches long, which is longer than standard school rulers.
it is usually quiet, but inside breeding colonies it makes deep calling sounds that sound very much like a mooing cow.
you can tell it apart from other pelicans by its completely bare face, which has no feathers around the eyes or forehead.
in Europe it is protected by one hundred eight special protection areas and lives inside forty-three important bird areas.

The first one is the question printed in your book: here is the answer. The other four are extra.

Question 1 of 5★ this one is in your book

What is the maximum wingspan of the great white pelican?

Question 2 of 5

What is the pouch under the beak used for?

Question 3 of 5

How do pelicans hunt when they are in a group?

Question 4 of 5

Which is heavier between male and female pelicans?

Question 5 of 5

How many eggs does the female lay?

Experiment 1

Measure twelve feet on the floor using a tape measure to see the maximum wingspan of this bird. Lie down next to it to compare your height.

Experiment 2

Fill a plastic bag with water and try draining it from a small corner while keeping an object inside. That is how the pelican uses its pouch.

Experiment 3

Place objects on your bathroom scale until you reach twenty-five pounds. That is the average weight of an adult male bird living in Africa.