The brown pelican Pelecanus occidents is a North American bird of the pelican fami, Pelecanidae. It is one of three pelican species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving in water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands. The brown pelican main feeds on fish, but occasional eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. It nests in colonies in secluded areas, often on islands, vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and mangroves. Females lay two or three oval, chalky white eggs. Incubation takes a month with both sexes sharing duties. The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009, as pesticides threatened its future in the Southeastern United States and Cfornia. In 1972, DDT was banned in Florida, followed by the rest of the United States. Since then, the brown pelican`s population has increased. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge, Florida`s Pelican Island, to protect the species from hunters.

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