Stretched to the Extreme

Brown pelicans are funny creatures.  They can make the funniest faces at times.  If you go back a few days’ posts you’ll see some of that.  They’re equipped with a huge pouch attached to their lower jaw used for fishing and straining out the junk that comes up with it.  Once the fish is in the pouch it’s tip the head up and down the hatch.  While messing around at Little Estero one afternoon, one of these guys put on a perfect demonstration of the flexibility of that pouch.

Alright, it’s kinda gross, but here he is pulling his head back and pushing his chest up where his pouch is.  What you see is the inside of his mouth, it’s turned inside out!!

and then the loooooong streeeeeetch straight up. He looks like a snake.  Just watching the behavioral characteristics of these birds this last week, much less photographing them, was amazing!