brown pelican

noun

: a pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) of American coasts that has a brownish body and a chiefly white or white with yellow head

Examples of brown pelican in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Dive tour operators and anglers wrangle In St. Petersburg, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) temporarily closed pier fishing on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge after brown pelicans, ensnared by fishing lines, died. —

Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2024 At least three birds — two brown pelicans and a laughing gull — were killed by the oil spill, and the Coast Guard spotted at least nine other birds clearly suffering from the spill. —

Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 20 May 2024 Unfortunately, brown pelicans are showing up around the Bay Area in poor condition. —

Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 3 June 2024 The California brown pelican was listed as an endangered species decades ago after the spread of the chemical DDT caused the shells of their eggs to thin. —

Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for brown pelican

Word History

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of brown pelican was in 1780

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Brown pelican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brown%20pelican. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

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