Sep 15, 2025
California: Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
Brown pelican
Marie Read
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Angola
seen from United States
seen from Switzerland
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Cuba
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Philippines
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
California: Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
Brown pelican
Marie Read
Photograph taken by Marie Read for Living Bird’s Spring 1999 issue. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/11786860
Anne Bonny and Marie Read Halloween CE art by Chocoan
Rowdy & raunchy: For eight weeks each spring, crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) crowd shorelines and vie for mates. Males flash feathers, contract their pupils (pictured above), yap like small dogs, and—if they find a potential mate—release a tangerine-scented substance that may act like an aphrodisiac.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MARIE READ, NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY
Roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) adult in breeding plumage in flight over water, mangroves in background,Tampa Bay, Florida, USA, March.
Photographer: Marie Read
Horned puffins (Fratercula corniculata) mated pair 'billing', St. Paul Island, Pribilofs, Alaska, USA, July.
Photographer: Marie Read
Crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) pair interacting while perched on rock, St Paul Island, Pribilofs, Alaska, USA, July.
Photographer: Marie Read
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) adult in breeding plumage taking flight, Viera Wetlands, Florida, USA, March.
Photographer: Marie Read