Spirit Guide of the Day is Pelican! Now is time to forgive yourself. Release past guilt or resentment and free yourself from whatever is weighing you down. Now is a time of cooperation with others over competition. If you have a choice for an upcoming opportunity, take it and use that cooperation with others to advance this opportunity. People who are connected with Pelican are cheerful regardless of hardship, being very sociable creatures that enjoy having others around them. These unselfish individuals enjoy sharing their time and possessions with a intuitive nature that allows them to catch subtle meanings that may be overlooked by others.

Pelicans, Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos, are large waterbirds that posess broad wings, a long neck, and a large bill. The American White Pelican are pure white birds with black flight feathers. A small patch of feathers on their chest can turn yellow in the spring. These birds breed mainly on islands in freshwater lakes or on islands in shallow wetlands along the northern Great Plains. They prefer to forage in shallow water along lakes, river edges, or in wetlands. They will stop in similar habitats during migrations to hunt and rest. During the winter, they will prefer inlets, estuaries, and coastal bays where they can hunt in shallow water and rest on exposed spots like sandbars. Their large beaks are perfect for hunting small fish such as minnows, suckers, and carp. At times, they will eat creatures such as crayfish, salamanders, and bottom feeders due to their opportunistic feeding nature. This nature means they can find various types of prey when water levels and species types change. Pelicans will travel and search for food in large flocks, traveling, at times, in a V formation for long distances. Although waddling ungracefully when walking, they soar gracefully on their broad wings and have webbed feet that make for easy water landings and strong swimming. They forage by swimming on the surface of the water, dipping in their large bills to scoop up prey and raising them straight up to drain the water and swallow the fish. Often, they will forage in groups with a technique that involves flapping their wings to drive the fish toward shore and corner them in the shallower water for a highly efficient, synchonized hunt. At times, when threatened, Pelicans will fly aggressively into a near-stall or, when threated on land, will hold an upright posture and grunt. More severe threats are responded to with open-billed displays followed swiftly by a lunging, jabbing motion with their bills. When courting, pairs will fly in circles and strut along the ground with bowing, jabbing motions towards chosen nest sites. These nest sites are often choosen on a flat area such as gravel, soil or sand near other pelicans in the same stages of the breeding cycle. In drier, more southern areas, the Pelicans will create nests among sparse vegatation. When in forested areas, the chosen sites will be found under shrubs or trees. Both male and female Pelican will help to built the nest, using those long bills to dig a shallow depression approximately 2 feet across with a rim no higher than 8 inches. The nesting period will last around 70 days with around 2 eggs per nesting pair. Unfornately, in nests with two eggs, one chick will usually harrass or kill the second hatchling in a behavior known as Siblicide. The hatchlings are helpless when they break free of their eggs, an orange body with gray-white pouch and bills. Unable to walk, they are cared for by the parents until 2 to 3 weeks old when they leave their nests and form into small groups called Creches. The parents will continue to find food for them, returning to the Creches to feed their particular children.