The Brown Pelican has an enormous bill and expandable throat pouch to catch fish under water. Unlike other pelicans, the Brown Pelican captures its prey by way of a spectacular head-first dive in the water from considerable heights.  I have been in my Kayak when these big fellows were diving on all sides of me. It is a large bird that lives along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico in North and South America.

Anatomy: The Brown Pelican has a long, straight bill with an enormous pouch attached to it. This pouch holds three times as much as its stomach can. The pelican uses the pouch to catch fish, feed its young, and cool itself (the pouch is full of blood vessels, which lose heat near the surface of the skin). The Brown Pelican is about 4 feet long, weighs roughly 9 pounds and has a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 foot wingspan.

In late summer, the brown pelican heads up the California coast from its breeding and nesting sites on the islands off the coast of Mexico. After four or five months raising their chicks and teaching them the difficult skill of plunge diving, the pelicans follow their food supply - anchovy, sardine and mackerel - as far north as British Columbia. Elkhorn Slough is one of the most important roosting sites along the way, with peak roost counts between 1000 and 5000 birds! Many pelicans arrive during May and June, with the greatest numbers present from July to October.  http://www.elkhornslough.org/critters/pelicans.htm