Posted Monday, June 20, 2016 at 2:32pm by Andrej Vizi
Dalmatian pelicans at Skadar Lake between blossom and decay Andrej Vizi, ornithologist Natural History Museum of Montenegro

Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus Crispus) is the largest freshwater bird in the world. Curiously, it is found in one of the world’s smallest countries, Montenegro, with the oldest record occurring in the 19th century. Although they are completely dependent on fish, these birds can’t dive; their size/weight ratio keeps them afloat. Thus, they choose shallow lakes and sea lagoons, where they can hunt and build dense colonies, using whatever substrate they can find. On Skadar Lake, they breed on the small peat islands, formed by compacting of swamp vegetation, in the pristine surrounding of flooded willows, reedbeds, and floating water lilies. There are also the cormorants in the neighborhood, which are known to help pelicans with fishing: cormorants are excellent divers, and by doing so, they scare the fish from the bottom up to the pelicans. That being said, it becomes clear that pelicans represent the indicator of a healthy ecosystem with preserved links between different species. So, the pelicans at Skadar Lake really seem to have an idyllic life condition.
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