---
title: "Spot-billed Pelican"
description: "Pelecanus philippensis — Aves. The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/spot-billed-pelican
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spot-billed Pelican

> Pelecanus philippensis — Aves. The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family.

- Scientific name: *Pelecanus philippensis*
- Category: `birds` (Aves)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 3986
- Wikidata: [Q180360](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q180360)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4336](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4336)

## Names

- en: Spot-billed Pelican
- de: Graupelikan
- es: Pelícano oriental
- fr: Pélican à bec tacheté
- nl: Grijze pelikaan
- pl: Pelikan indyjski

## Countries with the most observations

IN (2273), LK (1049), TH (278), KH (118), VN (5), MM (4)

## Summary

The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or gray 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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot-billed_pelican

## Photo

![Spot-billed Pelican](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spot-billed-pelican/medium.jpg)

Photo: Omar Haroon · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53621444

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/spot-billed-pelican?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).