Extinct Birds : White Pelican

This well-known fish-eater found on remote treeless islands has very specific nesting requirements. The nesting colonies are distributed mostly from the Canadian prairie, south to southern California and the Texas Gulf Coast. Almost half of the birds nest in Canada. The white pelican, however, is a threatened species. Since 1900, 26 colonies in Canada have been abandoned, leaving only 29 to carry on. The greatest cause of this continued slow decline has been human disturbance, which prompts desertion of the nests and nesting islands for the year, or permanently. The survival of the white pelican will depend on increased protection for the bird's nesting grounds in national and provincial parks and other reserves, and the extension of legal protection to the bird's nesting islands, which are not presently protected.