SPOT-BILLED PELICAN - ENVIRONMENT
News: Pelicans,
mangroves, and salt marshes
What's in the news?
● The
island of Sriharikota serves as a barrier that shields a brackish water lagoon
that we call the Pulicat lake.
● It
has tidal flats, and both fresh and brackish water wetlands found here are
ideal for the spot-billed pelican.
Spot-billed Pelicans:
● The
spot-billed pelican, also called grey pelican, is a member of the pelican
family.
● It
is relatively a small pelican but still a large bird, about 125–152 cm (49–60
in) long.
Habitat:
● It
breeds in Southern Asia from
southern Iran across India east to Indonesia.
● It
is a bird of large inland and coastal
waters, especially large lakes.
● The
breeding population of these pelican species is limited to India, Sri Lanka and
Cambodia.
● In
the non-breeding season they are recorded in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and
Vietnam.
Conservation status:
● IUCN
status: Near Threatened.
● Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule IV
(Hunting prohibited but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the
first two schedules.