The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) – a migratory bird of the pelican family. The largest population of this pelican type is found in the Karavasta lagoon in Albania. In Macedonia could be found in the Prespa Lake. It is found in the Skadar Lake and in the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria.

The Dalmatian pelicans have curly (bent) feathers on the nostrils and the nipples, the throat-bag is orange, the legs are dark grey, and their irises are whitish. There are little black feathers on their wings.

The length of their body is about 180 cm and the wingspan about 3 m. The average weight of 11.5 kg makes it the world’s heaviest flying bird species.

Pelicans usually make their nests on islands, lagoons, river deltas or places with dense aquatic vegetation. Breeding begins in March and April. It lays 1-6 eggs, usually 2-3 white eggs. Chicks are born naked but soon their feathers grow. After the sixth week they can fish and after the tenth week, they begin to fly.

The habitat of this bird are the shorelines of seas, lakes and the mouths of fish-rich rivers. It feeds mostly on fish. It hunts the food alone or in a group of two or three pelicans.