Brown Pelican behaviour (1 Viewer)

[GMJH]

I'm not sure if this is the right board. But anyway, can anyone tell me what this Brown Pelican is doing? Yawning? Burping? I really don't know as I've never seen one doing this (it only did it for a second and I happened to be focused on it). And what is the big pink thing? Tongue? Gullet? Taken today in South Texas

 

[MLoyko]

Not sure what it's doing but that pink thing seems to be it's pouch aka the skin on the bottom jaw

 

[Dave B Smith]

Yes, looks like a pouch inside out!

 

[fugl]

It’s a standard pelican “comfort movement” called “glottis exposure” which I’ve read about but have never actually seen (but I live inland & don’t encounter pelicans all that often). The pouch is everted by spreading the lower mandible & pressing it down against the curve of the neck. I don’t know what the precise function is, maybe just to stretch the skin & relieve stress.

Great photo, BTW.

 

[GMJH]

It’s a standard pelican “comfort movement” called “glottis exposure” which I’ve read about but have never actually seen (but I live inland & don’t encounter pelicans all that often). The pouch is everted by spreading the lower mandible & pressing it down against the curve of the neck. I don’t know what the precise function is, maybe just to stretch the skin & relieve stress.

Great photo, BTW.

ah thanks very much. and thanks for the compliment. I wonder if anyone would want the photo if it's a relatively rare thing to see. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[fugl]

ah thanks very much. and thanks for the compliment. I wonder if anyone would want the photo if it's a relatively rare thing to see. Anyway, thanks again.

I don’t know how common photos of “glottis exposure” are, but yours is a good one. You might search for Brown Pelican in Google Images & see what turns up. Also, do you know about the Birdforum photo gallery? You might want to post your photo there (just click “gallery” on the BF home page to start the process).