Photo Of The Day: November 1, 2008

The brown pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is about four feet in length with a wingspan of about seven feet. It's common in the Caribbean, so it was easy to see in Turks and Caicos. Unlike the American White Pelican, it dives for fish from the air, and often travels in groups in single file, flying low over the water's surface. Here's one I saw just taking off, and if you look closely, you'll see the drops of water behind him where he took off. For more pictures of unusual animals, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.