PINK-BACKED PELICAN; BIRDS OF UGANDA – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

pink-backed-pelicanAlso referred to as Pelecanus rufescens, the pink-backed pelican belongs to the Pelican family and a notable resident breeder in the shallow lakes and swamps along with waterways such as Kazinga channel where it is always viewed on Uganda Safaris and tours.
The pink-backed pelican is a small pelican but not a small bird stretching from 125 – 155cm in length and 4 – 7kg in weight not forgetting a wingspan of 2.15 – 2.9m. Its bill is 30 – 38cm.
Regarding the plumage, the pink-backed pelican is grey and white with its back marked by a pinkish hue. It has a greyish pouch while the top of the bill is yellow as always viewed on birding safaris in Uganda.  The long feather plumes on the head are present among the breeding adults.
The pink-backed pelican thrives in aquatic habitats but it prefers backwaters that are quiet and shallow and would avoid steep vegetated lake banks. It prefers lakes with fresh waters and large slow flowing rivers along with seasonal pools. However, the pink-backed pelican can as well thrive in saline or alkaline lake and lagoons.
They commonly roost and breed in trees like mangroves but can as well do the same on cliffs, sandy islands, sand dunes and coral reefs. The nesting trees feature many nests close to one another and these nests are utilised year after a year until the trees collapse. The nest is put together with sticks and is always around 10 – 50m from the ground as often viewed by birders on a Uganda Safari tour.
The female pink-backed pelican lays two (2) – three (3) eggs and the chicks feed by picking the partially digested fish from the adult’s pouch.  The pink-backed pelican majorly feeds on fish like Tilapia and Haplochromis along with amphibians.
Regarding conservation, the pink-backed pelican is listed as species of Least Concern under the red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  In Uganda, the pink-backed pelican can be explored along Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and on the shores of Lake Victoria. It can thus be included on the list of what to look out for while planning birding safaris to Uganda.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHERE CAN YOU FIND & SEE GORILLAS IN UGANDA AFRICA?

Image
Uganda has only two national parks where one can see gorillas i.e Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and this is where g orilla trekking in Uganda is done to search and find  the rear endangered Mountain Gorillas . With about 1063 mountain gorillas that still exist on earth today, Uganda is home to more than half of all these endangered Great Apes making it one of the only 3 countries in the world where mountain gorillas live and Uganda gorilla tours are only done in there two national parks. Uganda has 20 gorilla families that have been habituated and already set for tourism purposes , 19 of which are tracked/found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and only 1 is found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one  of the places where you can see Gorillas in Uganda Africa. The appropriately named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (also called “The Place of Darkness”) is the world’s premier ...
Read more

Mountain Gorilla Behavior,Diet,Threats and Predators

http://www.primeugandasafaris.com/gorilla-safaris/5-days-uganda-gorilla-safari.html Behavior  Although strong and powerful, gorillas are generally gentle,shy ,retiring rather than ferocious and treacherous . They live in groups of 2-40 individuals, averaging about 11. Groups are led by a dominant male, the Silverback, named for the silvery gray hairs that grow when the male matures. The Silverback serves as the chief leader and protector of the group, to whom all group members defer. He decides when and where to go, rest and sleep, arbitrates disputes among his family members and protects them from rival Silverbacks or human predators. Gorillas usually seeks no trouble but will valiantly defend its family group if threatened. An adult male called a silverback named for the silvery gray hairs on its back normally leads each group, serving as its chief protector and defender. Gorillas ...
Read more