What Do Pelicans Eat, and Do They Store Food in Their Pouches?

Pelicans are large water birds known for the throat pouch they use to catch fish. There are currently eight living pelican species inhabiting warm, shallow waters around the world. The pelican is the national bird of several Caribbean territories, as well as the mascot for sports teams worldwide. Learn what pelicans eat, and find out whether they really store food in their pouches.

The Pelican Diet

A pelican’s diet consists entirely of meat, which means it is a carnivore and a predator in whatever ecological niche it inhabits. As large seabirds, pelicans primarily feed on fish and gather most of their caloric needs from or near the ocean. Depending on the species, pelicans will eat fish as small as a few inches to a few feet in length. The types of fish pelicans eat depend mainly on their habitat, but common species consumed worldwide include menhaden, herring, sheepshead, pigfish, minnows, silversides, and mullet. Pelicans that live on the Pacific coast often rely on anchovies and sardines to make up the bulk of their fish diet.

Aside from fish, pelicans are known to eat amphibians, small reptiles, crustaceans, insects, and other birds. Interestingly, other birds are a significant food source for many pelican species. For example, great white pelicans have been observed catching pigeons in various parks in London. Additionally, Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans regularly eat young birds in their respective regions.

Although their diet varies depending on habitat, pelicans generally eat the following foods:

• Anchovies
• Sardines
• Herring
• Sheepshead
• Pigfish
• Mullet
• Minnows
• Menhaden
• Crabs
• Lizards
• Frogs
• Salamanders
• Shrimp
• Crayfish
• Turtles
• Insects
• Birds

How Pelicans Hunt

Pelicans may fish in group formations or alone. In groups, the pelicans will find shallow-water schools of fish and round them up into a small area. Beating their wings on the surface of the water, they drive them further towards the shore, where they can be picked off easily. Once the fish have been rounded up, the pelicans take turns swooping down and grabbing them with their beaks. Occasionally, certain pelican species are known to work with other bird species to perform the same tactics.

When feeding alone, a pelican will spot fish in the water and swoop down to grab them. Larger fish need to be grabbed with the tips of their bills, allowing the pelican to flip its catch into the air and catch it in its pouch. Some pelican species will dive from as high as 70 feet, plunging into the water to scoop up fish in their pouch. Once back at the surface, they drain the pouch by tipping their head, allowing them to swallow their catch whole.

While some prey is caught by diving, most is captured from the water’s surface. The swimming pelican simply reaches its mouth into the water, scoops up fish in its pouch, and proceeds to drain it as necessary. Pelicans feed their young by opening their mouths and allowing the chicks to stick their beaks into the adult’s throat to retrieve food.

Do Pelicans Store Food in Their Pouch?

There is a popular belief that pelicans store food or other items in their pouch. While movies and television may promote this idea, it’s untrue. They only use it as a net to catch small fish in the water. This pouch, called a gular pouch, is used only for catching prey, not for storing it.

Still, these pouches are truly massive. Pelicans, specifically the Australian pelican, have the longest beaks of any living bird, with some reaching up to 20 inches in length. Additionally, pelicans can hold up to three gallons of water in their gular pouches. To put that in perspective, three gallons of water weigh about 25 pounds, which is the amount a pelican’s pouch can hold (not including the weight of any fish). For a bird that weighs between 11 and 20 pounds, that is truly remarkable.