Pelicans...

Yesterday we went to Long Beach and spent the afternoon at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Afterwards we strolled around the marina and saw lots of Pelicans. These Brown Pelicans are surrounding a boat, hoping for scraps. (You can click on the photos for a larger view.)

The pelicans are famous for their beaks, which they fill with huge gulps of water, strain out the liquid, and eat the remaining fish or squid.

Pelicans are a very distinct group (all 8 species belong to a single genus), and there remains debate about which other birds are their closest relatives. Fossils of pelicans go back 40 million years!

"Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!

His bill holds more than his belican.

He can take in his beak Enough food for a week.

But I'm darned if I know how the helican."
Dixon Lanier Merritt (1879-1972)