The Pelicaniiformes
Photo Left: Great White Pelican flying in Walvis Bay, Namibia
List of Pelicaniformes Families from Wikipedia
- Pelecanidae: pelicans. Very large birds with throat pouches in which they catch and store fish while hunting.
- Pelagornithidae: pseudotooth birds. An extinct family of gigantic seabirds that looked similar to albatrosses, but had a large bill with tooth-like projections that enabled them to pick up slippery prey like fish or squidsmore easily. They may actually be Galloanserae closely related to waterfowl, not Neoaves like the other "pelecaniform" families.
- Ardeidae: herons and their kin
- Balaenicipitidae: Shoebill stork
- Scopidae: Hammerkop
- Threskiornithidae: Spoonbills and their kin
The following families have now been transferred to the order Suliformes, previously termed suborder Sulae (Sulides in older sources):
- Fregatidae: frigatebirds. A group of five closely related large birds with black and white plumage, very long wings, and parasitical hunting habits. Red throat patches are inflated in display. They are usuually placed in a monotypic suborder Fregatae, and this seems to be appropriate. If split off in the Phalacrocoraciformes, it may also be simply treated as a basal lineage thereof.
- Sulidae: gannets and boobies. Medium to large species which hunt by diving from the air into the sea (plunge diving). Long wings and bills, often coloured feet.
- Phalacrocoracidae: cormorants and shags. Medium to large with hooked bills and usually black or similar dark plumage. Plumage is not fully waterproof.
- Anhingidae: darters. Another small closely related group of four species, with long bills, snake-like necks and the ability to swim with their body submerged. Plumage is not fully waterproof.
- Protoplotidae: an extinct family which apparently is derived from the same ancestor as the darters, but is very poorly known.
- Plotopteridae: plotopterids or diving-"boobies". An extinct group of penguin-like seabirds. Possibly link penguins and (some?) pelecaniforms. Depending on how the remaining Pelecaniformes would be split up, the plotopterids might have to be placed in a monotypic order, as some similarities with penguins are possibly synapomorphies.
Web Resources
Birds of the World - Pelicans
ADW - Pelicaniiformes - Photo Gallery
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - The Brown Pelican
Birds of the World - Pelicans
ADW - Pelicaniiformes - Photo Gallery
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - The Brown Pelican
Blue-footed Boobie
Family: Phalacrocoracidae - The Cormorants
Family Anhingidae - The Anhingas and Darters
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Anhinga
Family Fregatidae - Frigatebirds
Family Sulidae - The Gannets
Live Class Video
During the live class experience, we will be
watching the first 14:30 of the video below.
watching the first 14:30 of the video below.
Informative Videos