The Spot-billed or Grey Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) is a near threatened bird confined to India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Here they are seen perched on high voltage cables that run through the centre of the Pallikaranai marshes in Chennai.
These marshes support scores of bird species, such as jacanas, lapwings, warblers, moorhens, coots and dabchicks, in addition to pelicans.
Even though a major portion of the marshland was declared a reserve forest in 2007, most of it has become a huge dump yard for Chennai’s garbage. The cutting of trees around the lake is one of the reasons why pelicans now perch on high voltage cables. Two years ago, a fire in the marshes destroyed nesting bird sites.
Read more about the conservation status of the bird at the IUCN Red List website.
CI is a non-profit, non-commercial portal that aims to facilitate wildlife and nature conservation by providing reliable information and the tools needed to campaign effectively.
Chosen as 'Picture of the Week'
Even though a major portion of the Pallikaranai marshland was declared a reserve forest in 2007, it has become a huge dump yard for Chennai's garbage. The cutting of trees around the lake is one of the reasons why pelicans perch on high voltage cables.