Justification
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of _the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S.; Perrins, C. M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Dowsett, R. J.; Forbes-Watson, A. D. 1993. Checklist of birds of the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions. Tauraco Press, Li
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
Trend justificationThe population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
EcologyBehaviour This species makes little known (Ogilvie 1997) dispersive movements (del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Nelson 2005) related to water conditions (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992). It is locally nomadic in southern Africa in response to changing wetland conditions (Barnes 2000), and western African populations make northward movements into sub-Saharan steppe during the wet season, returning southwards in the dry season (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Johnsgard 1993). The species breeds all year round, although most start late in the wet season (del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Johnsgard 1993, Nelson 2005). It is gregarious both during breeding and non-breeding (Langrand 1990), nesting in small groups or larger loose colonies of between 20 and 500 pairs (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Ogilvie 1997) (often alongside other species (Langrand 1990, Nelson 2005)). It roosts nocturnally in groups (Johnsgard 1993), but is more of a solitary feeder, preferring to fish singly or in small loose groups of less than 30 individuals (Langrand 1990, Johnsgard 1993, Nelson 2005). It is chiefly diurnally active, especially during the morning and evening, although it may also fish on moonlit nights (Brown
et al. 1982, Langrand 1990).
Habitat The species inhabits a wide range of aquatic habitats, but prefers to feed in quiet backwaters and weed-grown lagoons (del Hoyo
et al. 1992) where there is shallow water and emergent vegetation (Langrand 1990), generally avoiding steep, vegetated lake margins (Nelson 2005). It shows a preference for freshwater lakes, swamps, large slow-flowing rivers, and seasonal pools (Brown
et al. 1982, Langrand 1990, del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Johnsgard 1993, Nelson 2005), but also frequents reservoirs (Brown
et al. 1982, Johnsgard 1993), seasonally flooded land (Nelson 2005) and flood-plains near river mouths (Ogilvie 1997). It may occur on alkaline and saline lakes and lagoons (Brown
et al. 1982, Langrand 1990, Johnsgard 1993, Nelson 2005), and can sometimes be found along the coast in bays (del Hoyo
et al. 1992) and estuaries (Brown
et al. 1982, Langrand 1990, Nelson 2005) (although seldom on open seashore) (Brown
et al. 1982, Nelson 2005). The species tends to roost and breed in trees (e.g. mangroves), but will also roost on sandy islands, cliffs, coral reefs and sand-dunes (del Hoyo
et al. 1992). Nesting trees are often killed by repeated nesting, which forces breeding colonies to move (although birds will usually not move far) (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992).
Diet The diet of this species consists entirely of fish (of any size up to 450 g, although usually in the range of 80-290 g) (Nelson 2005), with cichlids (especially
Haplochromis and
Tilapia) being preferred (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Johnsgard 1993, Nelson 2005).
Breeding site The species nests colonially in trees, reeds or low bushes along waterfronts (Brown
et al. 1982, del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Nelson 2005) as well as (less often) on the ground on sandy islands and in mangroves (del Hoyo
et al. 1992, Nelson 2005). The nest is small and constructed of sticks (del Hoyo
et al. 1992), and may be situated at elevations of 10-50 m above the ground (Johnsgard 1993). A single tree may contain many nests (Nelson 2005) that can be very close together (often touching) (Ogilvie 1997), and a single pair will refurbish and re-use the same nest from year to year if it has not collapsed (Nelson 2005).
ThreatsThis species is threatened by habitat loss in KwaZulu-Natal, as many suitable pans and flood-plains are being altered through drainage and cultivation, and the natural flooding regime of pans in the Pongolo system has been altered by the Jozini Dam (Barnes 2000). In southern Africa disturbance of the species is increasing at estuaries as these areas become more intensively used and developed (Barnes 2000). The species is also susceptible to bioaccumulation of toxins in their body tissue, which may lead to a decline in reproductive success (Barnes 2000). Destruction of nesting trees due to logging activities may be a local problem (Ogilvie 1997).
Related state of the world's birds case studies
References
Brown, L. H.; Urban, E. K.; Newman, K. 1982. The birds of Africa vol I. Academic Press, London.
Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the birds of Madagascar. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Johnsgard, P. A. 1993. Cormorants, darters, and pelicans of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Barnes, K. N. 2000. The Eskom Red Data Book of birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg.
Nelson, J. B. 2005. Pelicans, cormorants and their relatives. Pelecanidae, Sulidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Anhingidae, Fregatidae, Phaethontidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.
Ogilvie, M. 1997. Pelecanus rufescens Pink-backed Pelecan. Birds of the Western Palearctic Update 1(3): 154-156.
Further web sources of information
View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection
Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Malpas, L.
IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Pelecanus rufescens. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000)
Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004)
Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
Additional resources for this species
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