page_title: Pink-backed pelican
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Pink-backed pelican / Description
caption_attribution_description: English&#x3a;&#32; Egg of pink-backed pelican Collection of Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.Français&#x202f;&#x3a;&#32; Œuf de Pélican gris Collection Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.
context_page_description: The pink-backed pelican is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa, southern Arabia, and southern India; it has also apparently extirpated in Madagascar.
context_section_description: It is a relatively small pelican, although by no means is it a small bird. Its length is from 125 to 155 cm (49 to 61 in), wingspan is 2.15–2.9 m (7.1–9.5 ft) and body mass is from 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). The bill is 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in) in length. The plumage is grey and white, with a pinkish hue on the back occasionally apparent (never in the deep pink of a flamingo). The top of the bill is yellow and the pouch is usually greyish. Breeding adults have long feather plumes on the head.
  It shares its habitat with the great white pelican, which is generally larger and has white instead of greyish plumage.
caption: Pelecanus rufescens - MHNT
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