PSP....Pelican Sleeping Position

  I suppose that I take a tad too much interest in the critters around the Bayou.  It seems that I can never learn enough.  No matter how I try, there is always something new to discover.  Mother Nature sees to supplying a goodly amount of mystery with her surroundings. Take the Brown Pelican for example.  I write a lot about this bird simply because they are always gathering about the pier.  The large, often clumsy-looking birds are one of the most people-friendly critters one can ever hope to meet.  If you are not careful, these guys will steal your fresh caught fish from under your nose!  

  The other day, I was watching the Brown Pelicans as they would dive for mullet.  Pop had once labeled all Brown Pelicans as "Old Gus".  The name has stuck which is sort of comical in itself merely because even if there are dozens of the pelicans around the Bayou, they all have the same name!  Old Gus is a very common name among pelicans obviously.  Anyway, as I sat watching the birds splat in the water, I noticed that one was resting on a pier post.  On closer observation, I realized that the bird was actually sleeping.  Not that there is much unusual about a bird sleeping....all birds do.  Some just sleep in short naps and not the all-nighter that most humans require.  Plus, birds are very light sleepers since they still have to be wary of predators.  Back to our pelican, though.  What caught my interest with this particular bird is the fact that it was not in "pelican sleeping position".  Most often, a pelican will sleep with its large bill tucked up on its back.  (Like the ones getting "tucked in" for their snooze in the picture above.) This guy was sleeping with its head and bill straight out in front.  At first, I thought that perhaps it was just resting a bit but nope, it was sound asleep.  

  After a bit of research, I found that most pelicans do sleep in the position of the tucked bill as do most birds. Contrary to the most popular belief, the birds are not tucking their heads beneath their wing, they are just using their back feathers as sort of an insulation. This is done to rest the neck muscles,  protect the bill, keep the bird warmer. The pouch part of a pelican's bill is actually rather thin and heat loss can be tremendous. The pelican sleeping in this weird position would not have even made me stop to think but since it was rather chilly out that day, it looks like the bird would have definitely used that tuck and snooze method.  It seems to me that it would have been a tad warmer! Silly Old Gus!