Pelicans Pull Their Own Spines Out of Their Mouths, But Why?

For those who have an interest in pelicans, or for those who have pelican statues sitting out in their front or backyards, today we learn that a pelican (and other birds) can protrude their spines out of their mouths.

They do this when they start to overheat as a way to cool themselves in high heat temperatures, but boy is this not what we expected to see. So now that we know this we started to research how they do this. 

In order to cool down they will sit with their mouths open so that their insides will cool down as well as their outsides. They call this gular fluttering and in extreme cases of overheating they will pull up their spine. This is the same mechanic they use to yawn which is also really bizarre to watch. 

This is just one of the ways that they have adapted. Pelicans are approximately over 30 million years old according to the oldest finding. The earliest pelican fossil on record is a 30-million-year-old skull that was found in the Oligocene deposits of France. There are now eight living species of pelican that you can find globally, accept in Antarctica because while they like to keep cool, that’s a bit too cold. 

Another scary fact about our pelican friends is they don’t eat just fish. They also eat amphibians, crustaceans, turtles, and… other birds. As long as it can fit down their throat they will eat it, including their own species.


_Daily Morph