Water-going birds of the family Pelecanidae, known for their elongated beaks which support a neck pouch that enables the bird to swallow large prey. This prey is usually fish, but also occasionally amphibians, turtles, crustaceans, insects, birds, and mammals.
Plumage is white, brown and/or grey-white among the 8 extant species, some of which sport black flight feathers.
Pelicans date back about 30m years in the fossil record and are considered most closely related to the shoebill.
