Gallery Spotlight
PELICAN NEST IN MANGROVES
By Kim B. Parrish
© 2020 – 36 x 36” Original Oil on Canvas
BROWN PELICAN
Pelecanus occidentalis
Protected by FL Threatened Species Rule
Pelicans are often considered “ungainly” in appearance, but they can spy out fish from 60 feet up in the sky, then dive bomb into the waves at 40 mph. Out of the eight pelican species on Earth, only the brown pelican can dive from this height. On impact, the gular pouch fills with water to act as a brake, and special muscles protect the pelican’s spine and neck. Even with all this special gear, the brown pelican has to dive at a precise angle and rotate its neck to the left to avoid injury. Pretty amazing for an “ungainly” bird.
Brown pelicans were hit hard by DDT during the 1960s and 1970s, but they rebounded after DDT was banned.
Primary threats to water birds in Florida today are habitat degradation and imported predators, including a devastating infestation of invasive pythons which can devour adult pelicans, the young and eggs. In a recent study, scientists found that birds accounted for 25 percent of the python’s diet in the Everglades.
My original pelican nest painting, “Pelican Nest in Mangroves” is 36 x 36 inches on canvas, and depicts a brown pelican with her young in Florida’s coastal biotope. Thanks for your interest in my work, and I hope you enjoy the beauty of Florida’s wonderful birds.