Great White Pelican

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: White Pelican
Latin: Pelecanus onocrotalus
Other: Great White Pelican • Eastern White Pelican
Family: Pelecanidae • Pelicans

Half of all White Pelicans breed in the Danube Delta, where they can be seen in great numbers, spiralling up on thermals, high in the sky, or swimming in the Black Sea and lakes in the Delta, often with cormorants.

The White Pelican has pink lores and dark irises, which distinguish it from the rarer Dalmatian Pelican. The White Pelican also has a thick black trailing stripe to on the wing. Pictured below is one unusual individual with both white and black feathers.