Considering the Design of Pelicans

When someone mentions pelican, the most common feature that probably comes to mind is the pouch in the beak. A few other birds have them, and some animals have similar features. Pelicans use the pouch to store food, a change of feathers, passports, credit cards, smartphones —

"Stop that, Cowboy Bob!"

The pouches are used in getting food essentially by scooping, then their muscles squeeze out the water. This is a great way to present dinner to the young'uns. But there are several other amazing features of pelicans that show design and bother evolution.

Pelican, Flickr / Charles Patrick Ewing (CC BY 2.0)

Different kinds of pelicans exist and they are found on almost every continent.Big birds, but surprisingly light. The hollow bones of birds are constructed to withstand the stresses encountered in their lives.

Some pelicans can dive into the water, and they don't go to pieces. As for flying, they can utilize the thermals and have amazing energy efficiency. Evolution? No sign of it. What is seen testifies of the Master Engineer and all that he put into place.

Being so large, pelicans often look very awkward as they waddle about on land. Yet a pelican can take off and be airborne with as few as five flaps of its wings. Pelicans appear far more majestic when airborne, and are extremely clever at saving energy when flying.

Seabirds such as the wandering albatross are known to be able to also fly long distances with very few wing-flaps. They do so by exploiting the energy of so-called ‘wind shear’, available some 10–20 metres (35–65 ft) above the ocean surface, using a technique termed dynamic soaring. . . .

Pelicans, however, use two different methods to aid flying.

To read the entire article, visit "The not-so-ponderous pelican."