Pink-backed pelican
Amazing fact
Pink-backed pelican chicks put their heads into a parent's throat pouch to eat regurgitated fish.
Penang Bird Park
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Pink-backed pelican chicks put their heads into a parent's throat pouch to eat regurgitated fish.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Pink-backed pelican
- Scientific name
- Pelecanus rufescens
- Japanese name
- コシベニペリカン
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Pelecanidae
- Genus
- Pelecanus
The feathers on its lower back and sides are reddish, which is where its Japanese name (red rump) comes from.
How the Pink-backed pelican lives
It scoops up water with its bill, taking fish and water into its throat pouch. It drains the water from its bill and swallows the fish. Rain and flooding around nest trees trigger the start of breeding. It nests in colonies in trees near water.
Eindhoven ZooBirdLife South AfricaBasic data
- Range
- East Africa south of the Sahara
Where the Pink-backed pelican has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- コシベニペリカン
- 简体中文
- 粉红背鹈鹕
- 繁體中文
- 粉背鵜鶘
- 한국어
- 분홍등사다새
- Español
- Pelícano rosado
- Français
- Pélican gris
- Deutsch
- Rötelpelikan
- Português (Brasil)
- Pelicano-cinzento
- Italiano
- Pellicano grigio
- العربية
- بجع وردي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Pelikan punggung merah muda
- Tiếng Việt
- Bồ nông lưng hồng
- Русский
- Розовоспинный пеликан
- Türkçe
- Küçük pelikan
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — コシベニペリカンChecked: 2026-11-04
- Eindhoven Zoo — Pink-backed pelicanChecked: 2026-11-07
- BirdLife South Africa — Pink-backed PelicanChecked: 2026-11-07
- Penang Bird Park — PINK-BACKED PELICANChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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