Scott Papes, age 9, of Cleveland, Ohio, for his question:
Where do pelicans build their nests?
Every bird has his favorite food. Naturally he likes to live where he can find it. He also has his nest nearby so that he can take plenty home to feed his hungry little ones. The pelican's favorite food is fish. That big pouch under his chin is a shopping bag to catch fishes and bring enough home for his chicks. So naturally his nest is near the water where fishes live, just as you would expect it to be.
There are eight kinds of pelicans in the world, and two kinds belong to us. The white pelican and the brown pelican live in rather lonely parts of North America. They are different colors and different sizes, and they don't enjoy the same kind of fish food. But like all the other pelicans in the world, they nest near the water. After all, this is where they can find the right kind of fish food for the family.
The white pelican likes fresh water fish. So he lives near inland lakes and streams. He feels safer when his nest is in some deserted place, perhaps near a wide lazy river or on a lonely island in a lake. His nest is on the sandy, gravelly ground. The dirt is scraped up to make a small hill with a flat top about six inches high. The platform on top has a layer of twigs, grasses and perhaps a few feathers. This makes a comfortable mattress for the eggs and the growing chicks. There are dozens of other nests nearby, so when the eggs hatch, the neighborhood is crowded with baby pelicans. Chances are that every one of them has a view of the water, where the big birds go to bring back their favorite fishy food.
The big white pelican is mostly white, with black borders on his wings. His stubby legs and his wide flat feet are yellowish and reddish orange. They match the color of his huge bill with its huge pouch. He is an enormous bird, and when he flies his great wings spread ten feet wide. The brown pelican is big, but not quite this big. His wings spread about six feet wide. He is dusky brown with white ribbons down his neck and a patch of yellow on his forehead. And this bird does not like fresh water fish.
His favorite food is salt water fish, so he lives near the salty sea. We may find his family in the marshes around the Gulf of Mexico. His nest may be a shaggy platform of twigs, perched in the boughs of a mangrove swamp. He also may live in lonely place along our Western shores. His nest may be near a deserted beach or on a forgotten island in the sea. It may be just a simple hollow in the sand, partly lined with feathers. Sometimes a few twigs and grasses are added to make the lining more comfortable.
The parents take turns sitting on the nest until the crusty white eggs hatch. Then they keep busy shopping for food. The big birds fly low over the water to scoop up a pouch full of fish. They partly digest it, then open up for the hungry chicks to help themselves. When the little ones dive down for their fishy formulas, sometimes they almost fall into the huge pouch. After dinner, the parent birds fly back to the nearby water to scoop up the next, the next and the next helping.