Pelicans in the Desert: How American White Pelicans Find a Meal
A remarkable bill, cooperative fishing and the desert waters that make a meal possible.
A white pelican on a desert lake is a wonderful mismatch of scale. The bill seems enormous. The body rides high and bright on the water. Against the dry landscape around Lake Cahuilla, the bird can make the lake itself feel newly important.
My photographs show an American White Pelican moving across that water: one close enough to see its yellow-orange pouch, another with the shoreline behind it. The question those pictures invite is simple: how does a bird with a bill like that actually catch a meal?
The answer begins at the surface—and becomes even more interesting when several pelicans work together.
- American White Pelicans catch food at the surface, using their bill pouch to scoop and drain.
- Groups can work together to concentrate fish in shallower water.
- Mark Miller’s Lake Cahuilla photographs show the bird and its desert-lake setting.
A surface fisher with an extraordinary scoop
American White Pelicans usually catch food while swimming, dipping their bills into the water. Unlike Brown Pelicans, they do not make the familiar headfirst plunge from the air. A white pelican may tip forward as it reaches, but the basic approach is a surface scoop. [1]
That distinction changes what to watch. Instead of waiting for a dramatic aerial dive, look for the head lowering, the bill entering the water, and the next movement as the bird lifts it again. A quiet-looking swimmer can suddenly become a very active hunter.
The pouch catches a meal—it is not a lunch bag
The expandable pouch beneath the bill helps scoop up prey and water. The bird then lets the water drain and swallows the food. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes that sequence in its account of American White Pelicans; the pouch is part of the catching process, rather than a place to carry an afternoon’s supply of fish. [2]
In the close photograph above, the bill is shut. You can see its length and the folded pouch, but not a fish being caught. The diagram below opens up the sequence that a still portrait leaves hidden.
From scoop to swallow
Follow the three parts of a pelican’s meal.
1. Scoop
The bird dips its open bill into the water. The flexible pouch receives prey along with water.
2. Drain
The bill lifts and water drains away. Prey remains to be swallowed.
3. Swallow
The bird raises its bill and swallows the catch. The pouch is a feeding tool, not a storage bag.
Simplified explanatory drawings; not photographs of a feeding event. Shapes and proportions are schematic. Source 2.
When several bills work together
A group can make the hunt more effective by moving fish toward shallower water. Pelicans may line up, dip their bills and use wing movements to help corral prey, then feed in a coordinated burst. [3]
Watch the group’s shape as well as the individual birds. Are they spread loosely across the lake, converging on one area, or facing into the same patch of water? A gathering alone does not prove cooperative fishing. Repeated movement toward the same feeding area gives you more to work with.
Compare that with the Double-crested Cormorant, which pursues fish underwater. The same lake can support hunters using very different parts of the water column.
The meal depends on the water
Fish make up most of the diet, but American White Pelicans also take other aquatic animals. Which prey matters most varies with the place, water level and available food. A list of foods recorded across the species’ range should not be treated as a menu for Lake Cahuilla. [3]
That is part of what makes a lake more than a blue shape on a map. Water depth affects where birds can reach. Food availability affects whether stopping is worthwhile. Places to rest matter between feeding sessions.
In this wider photograph, the wake gives the still image a sense of direction. The bird and the lake belong in the same frame. That is a useful way to approach wildlife photography: keep enough of the setting to show what makes the encounter possible.
White at rest, black in flight
A massive bill, long neck and large white body make this pelican distinctive. Black flight feathers become much more apparent when the wings open. Breeding adults develop a temporary raised plate on the upper bill; its absence is not a reason to rule out the species. [1]
The change between folded and open wings can be striking. From the shore, watch how the bird’s outline changes when it stretches or takes off, rather than relying on an impression of “all white.”
Why a pelican belongs on a desert lake
American White Pelicans travel between breeding and nonbreeding areas, using water bodies for feeding and rest along the way. California’s wildlife account includes the Salton Sea and Colorado River in the species’ regional movements. The dates and numbers at any one lake can vary; these photographs document a Lake Cahuilla encounter, not a guaranteed seasonal schedule. [4]
Our Pacific Flyway guide puts those individual stops into a larger journey. Birds of Lake Cahuilla in Winter returns to the local scene and the different feeding opportunities around one lake.
A feeding stop is not a nesting colony
American White Pelicans nest colonially, commonly on isolated islands. Their nests are on the ground, and the young hatch helpless. As chicks grow, they gather into groups called crèches while parents continue returning to feed them. [3]
A swimming pelican at Lake Cahuilla does not establish that it nested there. Feeding water, resting places and breeding islands can be separate parts of a bird’s life. California’s account emphasizes that pelicans can travel substantial distances between a colony and feeding areas. [4]
Give the bird time—and room
Start with a comfortable viewing distance and let the pelican continue swimming or resting. Watch the bill, the wake and any nearby birds. A feeding group deserves space, and breeding colonies are especially sensitive to disturbance. [5]
For a local outing, begin with the Lake Cahuilla guide. For the larger wetland landscape, explore Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge and Salton Sea State Recreation Area. Check the individual guides for access before leaving.
The great bill is the obvious attraction. Watch a little longer and the fuller story comes into view: a bird using water, other birds and a network of places to find its next meal.
Questions about American White Pelicans
Do American White Pelicans dive from the air?
They usually feed while swimming and dipping their bills, rather than making the Brown Pelican’s familiar aerial plunge. [1]
Does a pelican store fish in its pouch?
The pouch helps capture prey and water. Water drains before the bird swallows its catch; it is not a bag for carrying a day’s food. [2]
Do they always fish in groups?
No. They can feed alone, but groups may cooperate to drive fish into shallower water. [5]
Why do some have a raised plate on the bill?
Breeding adults develop a temporary plate on the upper bill. It is a seasonal feature, so a bird without one can still be an American White Pelican. [1]
Where were these pelican photographs taken?
Both are Mark Miller’s original photographs from Lake Cahuilla, labeled 2024 in his archive. They show a swimming bird; the feeding sequence is explained with separate schematic drawings.
Sources and photo notes
Sources checked October 21, 2026. Species behavior is explained generally; the photographs do not document a feeding sequence or a nesting colony.
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — American White Pelican Identification. Appearance, seasonal bill plate and surface feeding.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Pelican Pitstop (April 5, 2022). Scoop, drain and swallow mechanics; an Illinois account used here for feeding behavior, not local occurrence.
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — American White Pelican Life History. Diet, cooperative feeding, colony nesting and young.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife — CWHR account B042 (updated February 2008). California movements and relationships between feeding and nesting areas; not used as a current population estimate.
- National Audubon Society — American White Pelican Field Guide. Group feeding and sensitivity of nesting colonies to disturbance.
Both photographs are original images by Mark Miller, identified in his archive as Lake Cahuilla, 2024. The featured image shows the bill closed; the wider photograph includes the shoreline. The interactive drawings are schematic illustrations, not photographic evidence of a catch.
