page_title: Great white pelican
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Great white pelican / Behavior / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Rosapelikan Pelecanus onocrotalus , Ei, Coll. Museum Wiesbaden English: Great white pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus , egg, Coll. Museum Wiesbaden
context_page_description: The great white pelican also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.
  The great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. It is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Annexure I under the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It is also listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas in its European range. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is applied.
context_section_description: The breeding season commences in April or May in temperate zones, is essentially all year around in Africa and runs February through April in India. Large numbers of these pelicans breed together in colonies.
  Nest locations vary: some populations make stick nests in trees but a majority, including all those that breed in Africa, nest exclusively in scrapes on the ground lined with grass, sticks, feathers and other material.
  The female can lay from 1 to 4 eggs in a clutch, with two being the average. Incubation takes 29 to 36 days. The chicks are naked when they hatch but quickly sprout blackish-brown down. The young are cared for by both parents.  The colony gathers in "pods" around 20 to 25 days after the eggs hatch. The young fledge at 65 to 75 days of age. Around 64% of young successful reach adulthood, attaining sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age.
caption: Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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