Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyPelecanidae (Pelicans)
- GenusPelecanus (Pelicans)
- SpeciesPelecanus occidentalis (Brown Pelican)
Closest Relatives at Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
American White Pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
📅 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 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve?
About 25% of visitor-days record a Brown Pelican sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, based on 510 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Brown Pelican in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve?
August has the highest sighting rate for Brown Pelican in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in our monthly data.