Suspended from the lower half of a pelican's long, straight bill is a pouch that is used as a dipnet. The pouch holds the pelican's catch until the water, as much as 3 gallons, is squeezed out. The pouch also serves as a cooling mechanism and as a feeding trough for young pelicans. Brown pelicans are the smallest pelicans. They are recognized by chestnut and white necks, white heads, pale yellow crowns, brown backs, grayish bills and pouches, and black legs and feet.
Pelicans are social and gregarious.
Males and females, juveniles and adults, congregate in large flocks for much of the year. Brown pelicans nest in colonies, mostly on small coastal islands which provide protection from predators and flooding. They build their nests on the ground, in bushes or in the tops of trees. Like many birds, newly hatched pelicans are blind, featherless and completely dependent upon their parents. They soon develop a soft, silky down, followed by feathers.