Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyPelecanidae (Pelicans)
- GenusPelecanus (Pelicans)
- SpeciesPelecanus occidentalis (Brown Pelican)
Closest Relatives at Carara National Park
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Green Ibis
Mesembrinibis cayennensis
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Brown Pelican in Carara National Park?
About 2% of visitor-days record a Brown Pelican sighting in Carara National Park, based on 93 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Brown Pelican in Carara National Park?
November has the highest sighting rate for Brown Pelican in Carara National Park in our monthly data.