Where Do Brown Pelicans Actually Live in the US?
Brown Pelicans live in 43 US states and are confirmed absent from 2 more, based on 2,365,761 verified iNaturalist and GBIF records. This page covers every state at once instead of one near-identical page per state.
By Tim, founder of Easy Street Markets. I maintain the wildlife database and verify every animal and source myself.
The states with the strongest confirmed populations are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado and Connecticut, and 37 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Brown Pelicans have zero confirmed wild sightings in Montana and North Dakota, despite tens of thousands of nationwide observation records for the species. That is a real, checked absence, not a missing page.
A small number of states (5) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm brown pelicans as an established population there.
Confirmed states (43)
- brown pelicans in Alabama
- brown pelicans in Arizona
- brown pelicans in Arkansas
- brown pelicans in California
- brown pelicans in Colorado
- brown pelicans in Connecticut
- brown pelicans in Delaware
- brown pelicans in Florida
- brown pelicans in Georgia
- brown pelicans in Idaho
- brown pelicans in Illinois
- brown pelicans in Indiana
- brown pelicans in Iowa
- brown pelicans in Kansas
- brown pelicans in Kentucky
- brown pelicans in Louisiana
- brown pelicans in Maine
- brown pelicans in Maryland
- brown pelicans in Massachusetts
- brown pelicans in Michigan
- brown pelicans in Minnesota
- brown pelicans in Mississippi
- brown pelicans in Missouri
- brown pelicans in Nebraska
- brown pelicans in Nevada
- brown pelicans in New Hampshire
- brown pelicans in New Jersey
- brown pelicans in New Mexico
- brown pelicans in New York
- brown pelicans in North Carolina
- brown pelicans in Ohio
- brown pelicans in Oklahoma
- brown pelicans in Oregon
- brown pelicans in Pennsylvania
- brown pelicans in Rhode Island
- brown pelicans in South Carolina
- brown pelicans in South Dakota
- brown pelicans in Tennessee
- brown pelicans in Texas
- brown pelicans in Utah
- brown pelicans in Virginia
- brown pelicans in Washington
- brown pelicans in Wisconsin
Not found (2)
- Montana
- North Dakota
Unconfirmed (5)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for brown pelicans in Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do brown pelicans live in?+
Brown Pelicans have confirmed wild populations in 43 US states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Where are brown pelicans not found in the US?+
Brown Pelicans have no confirmed wild sightings in Montana and North Dakota.