How to Use brown pelican in a Sentence

brown pelican

noun
  • Look out for brown pelicans, tricolor herons, reddish egrets, wood storks, and many other unique species.
    — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026
  • State officials expect to have more answers in the next few days about what is happening to the brown pelican.
    — Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2022
  • Smith said some residents have called in after seeing brown pelicans on roads and walking up to people.
    — Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
  • With its bent, outstretched wings, a lone brown pelican dive-bombs the ocean, skims low, only a few inches above the waves, looking for fish.
    — Donald Platt, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2023
  • Fall through spring is the best time to see migratory white pelicans and nesting brown pelicans.
    — Usa Today Network, USA Today, 10 June 2026
  • To feed on the fish, several Galápagos sharks appeared, as well as a brown pelican.
    — Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023
  • Staffers were on their way to release a hawk and took in a brown pelican brought in by a man on Fort Myers Beach.
    — Melissa Montoya, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2017
  • The group posted a YouTube video Thursday of the brown pelican attempting to grab small fish out of a blue crate.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2024
  • Only 19 brown pelicans have been treated by the marine park, compared to 143 last year.
    — Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The state helped bring back the brown pelican and the American alligator from the brink of extinction.
    — Sara Sneath | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 6 Sep. 2020
  • In the last month, the center has taken in 89 brown pelicans, many of them quickly dying, McGuire said.
    — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
  • But today my sole companion was a brown pelican who floated alongside, examining me with a bemused look.
    — New York Times, 18 Dec. 2020
  • While brown pelicans in warm climates can be year-round residents, those that spend summers along the Atlantic coast migrate south for the winter.
    — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Work has begun to save one of the state's top brown pelican rookeries and seabird habitats from slipping into the Gulf of Mexico.
    — Halle Parker | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 22 Dec. 2020
  • Nearly 60 years ago, the California brown pelican was on the brink of extinction.
    — Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2022
  • In February, the Houston Zoo found a cut in the mesh surrounding their brown pelican habitat.
    — Jamie Landers, Dallas News, 14 Mar. 2023
  • What is likely the same brown pelican around since July resurfaced again, this time at the end of the Pamet Harbor jetty in Truro.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 5 Oct. 2022
  • At least three birds — two brown pelicans and a laughing gull — were killed by the oil spill, and the Coast Guard spotted at least nine other birds clearly suffering from the spill.
    — Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 20 May 2024
  • Unfortunately, brown pelicans are showing up around the Bay Area in poor condition.
    — Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 3 June 2024
  • Adding to the impact, the brown pelican is Louisiana's state bird, and was only recently removed from the endangered species list.
    — Joseph Calamia, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2010
  • Then a Galápagos brown pelican, seemingly enchanted by the scent of the mahi-mahi being prepared, landed on the railing.
    — Betsy Andrews, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Invisible geckos belt out intermittent clicks from the foliage, as brown pelicans sweep lazily across the sky, patrolling the shoreline for their daily fill.
    — Ashlee Marie Preston, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Iconic species like the bald eagle, the American alligator, and the brown pelican have recovered and been delisted.
    — Gabriela Chavarria, The Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2019
  • Among the animals it is credited with saving are icons such as the bald eagle, brown pelican, gray wolf, and American alligator.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 29 Sep. 2021
  • Visitors can find walking trails and learn about the local birds like the California brown pelican and plants like the reddish-orange monkey flowers.
    — Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2024
  • The exception is the brown pelican, a North American species that divebombs into the water, grabbing fish in the process (watch video).
    — Liz Langley, National Geographic, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Death can come unexpectedly, like for a brown pelican that was found weakened, unable to lift its head, after Hurricane Irma.
    — Gabrielle Russon, OrlandoSentinel.com, 12 Feb. 2018
  • The lone brown pelican colony in Southwest Louisiana sits on an island that, like the vast majority of the state's coastline, has fallen prey to erosion.
    — Halle Parker | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 15 Jan. 2021
  • Also this week, the Houston Zoo discovered mesh around its brown pelican enclosure had been deliberately cut, though the birds were unharmed.
    — Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Feb. 2023
  • By contrast, a few Gulf inhabitants have shown a robust recovery—among them, menhaden fish and the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird.
    — National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brown pelican.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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