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Brown pelican foraging ecology in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2013-2015)_Colony reference

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2020-08-17T00:00:00Z
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals remaining resident and others leaving breeding areas. Pelicans forage in near- and offshore waters and capture schooling fish by plunge-diving. This dataset summarizes geographical information for breeding colonies visited for this study, in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida between 2013-2015.

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