spot billed pelican

Much smaller than Great White and Dalmatian, with dingier appearance, rather uniform pinkish bill and pouch(except in breeding condition), and black spotting on upper mandible (except juveniles). Pale circumorbital skin looks cut off from bill(appears to be wearing goggles). Tufted crest/hind neck usually apparent even on young birds. Underwing pattern similar to that of Dalmatian (and quite different from Great White), showing little contrast between wing-coverts and flight feathers and with paler greater coverts producing distinct cenpanel. Adult breeding has cinnamon-pink rump, underwing-coverts and undertail-coverts: head and neck appear greyish: has purplish skin in front of eye, and pouch is pink to dull purple and blotched with black. Adult non-breeding dirtier greyish-white, with paler pouch and facial skin. Immature has variable grey-brown markings on upperparts.Juvenile has brownish head and neck, brown mantle and upperwing-coverts(fringed with pale buff), and brown flight feathers: spotting on bill initially lacking(and still indistinct and 1 year).

Gregarious, and fished alone or cooperatively in a flock like Greate White. Large lakes, reservoirs and coastal lagoons and estuaries.
The species is found to breed only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka and in Cambodia. A few birds from India are known to winter in the Gangetic plains but reports of its presence in many other parts of the region such as the Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh has been questioned. The main habitat is in shallow lowland freshwaters. The spot-billed pelican is not migratory but are known to make local movements and are more widely distributed in the non-breeding season.

Fish.
Like most other pelicans, it catches fish in its huge bill pouch while swimming at the surface. Unlike the great white pelican it does not form large feeding flocks and is usually found to fish singly or in small flocks. Groups may however sometimes line up and drive fish towards the shallows. When flying to their roosts or feeding areas, small groups fly in formation with steady flapping. During the hot part of the day, they often soar on thermals. They may forage at night to some extent.

They are very silent although at their nests they can make hisses, grunts or snap their bills. Some early descriptions of nesting colonies have claimed them to be distinctive in their silence but most have noted colonies as noisy

The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or grey pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.