Rosy Pelican (Pelecanus Onocrotalus)
You just have to see it to believe it…the way this
bird fishes. It is a cooperative effort, swimming in semi-circles, the
flock drives the fish towards the shallow portion of the pond...and
then, with a sudden flash of lightening, the fish is in its bill. The
pouch in the bill acts somewhat like a landing net, the bird devours
the catch with a vigorous splashing of its great wings.
 ¤
Easily Traceable
This bird is found in great congregations on jheels and lagoons, it
is white or rose tinged with a tuft of yellow feathers on the breast,
has a slight crest and the feathers of the forehead end in a point
above the bill. Sexes are alike but females are somewhat smaller.
The bird can be branded as partly resident and partly a winter
visitor. It is found all over northern India from Punjab to Assam. It
can be sighted occasionally in the southern part of the country also.
One of the interesting things about it is that it nests in the old
nests of flamingoes in the Rann of Kutch. It lays two ivory white
eggs, surprisingly the juveniles are sooty black in colour. The bird
breeds limitedly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. |
