Breeding incidence of the Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and the Pink-backed Pelican P. rufescens in south-eastern Africa from 1933 to 2005

Abstract

The Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and the Pink-backed Pelican P. rufescens are flagship species for the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The traditional breeding sites for the Great White Pelican and the Pink-backed Pelican are confined to Lake St Lucia and Nsumo Pan, respectively. Considerable amounts of data have been collected since 1933 relating to the breeding efforts of these populations, and these data have been collected in a variety of ways. This study represents an attempt to collate and summarise these data and to make some estimations of the breeding success of the two pelican species in south-eastern Africa. Breeding attempts of Great White Pelican have been erratic and have had varied success. Although less erratic, only small numbers of the Pink-backed Pelican have bred.

Ostrich 2008, 79(1): 23–35