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Bird

Brown Pelican

(Pelecanus occidentalis)

Adopted on July 27, 1966.

The brown pelican became Louisiana's official bird on July 27, 1966. It nests from South Carolina to Brazil. Pelicans are famous for their large bill, the lower portion of which has a pouch which may be greatly extended.

The pelican is featured on Louisiana's flag and state seal, and one of Louisiana's nicknames is "The Pelican State." This bird has been a symbol of Louisiana since the arrival of early European settlers who were impressed with the Pelican's generous and nurturing attitude toward their young.

The birds, depending almost entirely on fish for food, scoop up quantities of water into their pouches as they seize prey from salt water. As the bill is elevated the water dribbles from the mandibles, and the pouch contracts as fish are swallowed. Five pounds of fish a day is the average consumption of a one-month old pelican.

The use of pesticides caused the Brown Pelican, native to the area, to stop nesting along the Gulf coast in the 1960s. By 1966, the bird had disappeared in Louisiana. In 1968, Louisiana began importing fledglings from Florida in an attempt to repopulate the coastline and, in 1970, the Federal Government declared the Brown Pelican an endangered species. Protection of the Brown Pelican's habitat along with repopulation efforts resulted in the Federal Government's declaration, in 1995, that the bird had "recovered" in Louisiana.

Identification

Length: 41 inches Wingspan: 90 inches
Sexes similar
Huge, dark bird
Long bill with a pouch, dark on Atlantic/Gulf coasts; bill paler along Pacific coast, becomes yellow during breeding season
Flies with neck tucked
Plunges from great heights into water to catch fish

Adult alternate:

White foreneck and head with yellow crown
Chestnut neck and nape
Gray-brown body plumage with slightly darker flight feathers

Adult basic

Yellowish crown
White head and neck
Gray-brown body plumage with slightly darker flight feathers

Immature:

Dark brown overall, gradually acquiring adult plumage over three years

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Aves -- birds
Order	Ciconiiformes -- albatrosses, alcids, auks, cormorants, diurnal birds of prey, eagles, falconiforms, falcons, flamingos, grebes, gulls, hawks, herons, ibises, loons, osprey, oystercatchers, pelicans, penguins, petrels, plovers, shearwaters, shore birds, storks, totipalmate swimmers, tube-nosed swimmers
Family	Pelecanidae -- pelicans
Genus	Pelecanus Linnaeus, 1758 -- pelicans
Species	Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 -- brown pelican, Pelícano pardo

State Flower

Flower by: Santalady State Flower, a state symbol

Magnolia

(Magnolia grandiflora)

Adopted in 1900.

The state flower of Louisiana is the magnolia. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), also called evergreen magnolia, bull-bay, big-laurel, or large-flower magnolia, has large fragrant white flowers and evergreen leaves that make it one of the most splendid of forest trees and a very popular ornamental that has been planted around the world.

Magnolias commonly grown in the United States are of two kinds - native and Asian. Native magnolias bloom from late spring to summer and have white, yellowish, or green flowers. Asian magnolias bloom in early to late spring andhave white, pink, or reddish-purple to purple flowers. Native magnolias are evergreen or deciduous (leaf shedding); Asian magnolias grown in cultivation are deciduous.

Size: - 60 to 80 feet in height with a spread of about 30 to 50 feet. There are numerous cultivars, and there can be variation between seedlings. Grows at about a medium rate with a pyramidal habit. Generally branched to the ground and best left this way since growing anything under them is futile.

Leaf: Alternate, simple, pinnately veined and evergreen, 5 to 8 inches long, oval in shape with an entire margin. Very waxy/shiny above, and reddish tomentose below.

Flower: Creamy white, sweet lemony fragrance, 6" to 12" in diameter. Flowering begins in late May-early June and continues sporadically all summer. Trees grown from seed generally start flowering within 10 years. Fruit is a pinkish red aggregate of folicles about 5" in length, splitting open in the late summer to expose the dark red seeds.

Fruit: An aggregate of follicles, green changing to red, cylindrical, 3 to 5 inches long with red seeds, 1/2 inch long. Maturing October to November.

Twig: Stout, with white to rusty tomentum and a long (1 to 1 1/2 inches) silky white to rusty red terminal bud.

Bark: Brown to gray, thin, smooth/lenticellate when young, later with close plates or scales.

Form: A medium-sized tree with a pyramidal crown. When open grown, the crown is dense with low branches.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision   Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

     Division   Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

      Class   Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

         Subclass Magnoliidae

            Order Magnoliales

               Family Magnoliaceae Magnolia family

                  Genus Magnolia L. magnolia

                   Species Magnolia grandiflora L. southern magnolia