The art of pelican seduction and general community integration 

Kumana National Park

Fun Facts

Before a Spot-billed pelican can become a family bird, they need to prove they’re good dancers as a marital prerequisite! This courtship solo dance involves males to puff up their pouch and use swinging motions and head-bobbing, followed by a hip-hop finale of tilting their head backwards! However, once they seal the deal, they prefer privacy for any verbal domestic disputes – the equivalent of “we’ll talk about it when we get home”. After being silent in public, they hiss, grunt or snap their bills back at their nest!

Did you know?

Spot-billed pelicans were once used by fishermen in parts of eastern Bengal as decoys, as it was believed an oily secretion from this bird attracted certain fish! However, in Sri Lanka, these pelicans are the ones doing most of the fishing, usually as a flock. They thrive on being part of a diverse feathered community, as usually several nests can be seen in a single tree together with other storks, herons, egrets and cormorants.

Whereabouts

The Spot-billed pelican is a common breeding resident in tanks, lagoons and marshlands of the low-country dry zone. Birds originally released from the National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka in Dehiwala have established breeding colonies in and around Colombo’s marshy areas and wet zones.