![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/american-white-pelican-2585b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"american-white-pelican-2585b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nWhite on black, nearly. With a little color thrown in for effect.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago I spent the early morning shooting from my tripod at a local pond. Pelicans typically hang out in groups but this one was a loner and ‘he’ allowed me a few, very few, fairly close photos before he swam much further away. It was very soon after sunrise so the soft light cast many dark shadows and reflections on the water which made for some fairly dramatic lighting with a bright white subject.<\/p>\n This shot was my favorite of the dozen or so photos I got before he swam further away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n See that ‘bump’ on the pelican’s upper mandible? It’s called a caruncle or more commonly (and less accurately) a “horn” and of the eight species of pelicans in the world only American White Pelicans have them. The horn is a fibrous, epidermal plate that arises vertically from the bill about one third of the distance from its tip. Its function is poorly understood but it’s “probably involved in courtship or agonistic behavior during pairing and territory establishment”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Caruncle size is highly variable and both sexes have them (this is an older photo of a different pelican). They grow from the bill prior to the breeding season and fall off shortly after mating and egg laying.<\/p>\n A pelican version of antlers? Not really but there are some similarities.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" White on black, nearly. With a little color thrown in for effect. (two photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/american-white-pelican-6904-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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