pelican, common name for a large, gregarious aquatic bird of warm regions, allied to the cormorants and gannets. Pelicans are heavy-bodied, long-necked birds with large, flat bills. They are graceful swimmers and fliers, often seen flying in long lines or circling at great heights. Fish are stored in a deep, expansible pouch below the lower mandible; the young feed from the pouch and throat. The white pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus, of North America ranges from the NW United States to the Gulf and Florida coasts. It is about 5 ft (152.5 cm) long with a wingspread of 8 to 10 ft (244–300.5 cm). Both sexes have white plumage with black primary wing feathers. The white pelican scoops fish into its pouch as it swims; the smaller brown pelican, P. occidentalis, dives from the air for its prey. The eastern brown pelican of the SE United States and tropical America and the California brown pelican are strictly ocean birds. The spectacled pelican is found in Australia and New Guinea. There are several Old World species. Pelicans are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Pelecaniformes, family Pelecanidae.

pelican the pelican is traditionally said to have fed its young on its own blood (see also pelican in her piety below). The story is told by Epiphanius and St Augustine; it appears to be of Egyptian origin, and to have referred originally to a different bird.

Recorded from late Old English, the word comes via late Latin from Greek pelekan, probably based on pelekus ‘axe’, with reference to its bill.
pelican crossing in the UK, a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights operated by pedestrians. The name comes (in the 1960s) from pe(destrian) li(ght) con(trolled), altered to conform with the bird's name.
Pelican flag the state flag of Louisiana, which depicts a pelican.
pelican in her piety in heraldry and Christian iconography, the depiction of a pelican pecking its own breast in order to feed her young, as a symbol of Christ.
Pelican State an informal name for Louisiana.

pel·i·can / ˈpelikən/ • n. a large gregarious waterbird (genus Pelecanus, family Pelecanidae) with a long bill, an extensible throat pouch for scooping up fish, and mainly white or gray plumage. Its six species include the white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos) of western and central North America, and the brown pelican (P. occidentalis) of northern and western South America and the southern US. ∎  a heraldic or artistic representation of a pelican, typically depicted pecking its own breast as a symbol of Christ.

pelican Any of several species of inland water birds, with a characteristic distensible pouch under its bill for scooping up fish from shallow water. It is usually white or brown and has a long hooked bill, long wings, short thick legs and webbed feet. Length: to 1.8m (6ft). Family Pelecanidae; genus Pelecanus.

pelican large gregarious fish-eating water-fowl OE.; †form of alembic; instrument for extracting teeth XVI. OE. pellican, reinforced in ME. by (O)F. pélican — late L. pelicānus — Gr. pelekán, prob. f. pélekus axe, with reference to the bird's bill.

Pelican. A bird, employed as Christian symbol. Because of the false belief that the pelican feeds her young with her blood by piercing her breast with her beak, the pelican became a popular medieval symbol for Christ's redemptive work, especially as mediated through the eucharist.

pelican. Gothic sculpture of the bird piercing her breast with her beak to draw blood to feed her young, symbolic of piety and the Eucharist.

pelican •blacken, bracken, slacken •Sri Lankan •Alaskan, Gascon, Madagascan, Nebraskan •Aachen, darken, hearken, kraken, Marcan, Petrarchan •Interlaken •beckon, Deccan, pekan, reckon •Mencken •awaken, bacon, betaken, forsaken, Jamaican, mistaken, partaken, shaken, taken, waken •godforsaken •archdeacon, beacon, Costa Rican, deacon, Dominican, Mohican, Mozambican, Puerto Rican, weaken •quicken, sicken, stricken, thicken, Wiccan •silken •Incan, Lincoln •brisken, Franciscan •barbican • Rubicon • Gallican •Anglican •Helicon, pelican •basilican, Millikan, silicon •publican • pantechnicon • Copernican •African • American • hurricane •lexicon, Mexican •Corsican • Vatican • liken •Brocken, Moroccan •falcon, Lorcan, Majorcan, Minorcan •Balcon, Balkan •gyrfalcon •awoken, bespoken, betoken, broken, foretoken, oaken, outspoken, plain-spoken, ryokan, spoken, token, woken •heartbroken •Lucan, toucan •Saarbrücken • Buchan • Vulcan •drunken, Duncan, shrunken, sunken •Etruscan, molluscan (US molluskan), Tuscan •Ardnamurchan • lochan