Under perfect conditions a pelican can live to be 30 plus years old. A healthy adult will weigh from 5 to 8 pounds and eat 3 to 4 pounds of fish per day. In the wild, pelicans catch surface minnows for food by diving from the air and using their pouch. The wingspread of a pelican ranges from 6 to 7 feet, tip to tip. They can fly in calm winds up to 35 miles per hour.
Males are larger than females and have a longer bill.
In Florida, pelicans build their nests in mangrove trees out of twigs and grasses brought by the male to the female for her to construct. Wild pelicans are polygamous but captive pelicans are 50 percent monogamous. The female lays 2 to 4 eggs in the late winter or early spring and after about 30 days of incubation by both the male and the female, the chick hatches. Young chicks are fed regurgitated fish and the older chicks feed from the parents' pouch. Young pelicans learn to feed themselves by copying adults in the wild.