1. What is a Pelican: A pelican is a large, distinctive water bird famous for its giant throat pouch and a long, curved bill that it uses like a fishing net: it is a master coastal fisher.

2. The Big Pouch: The stretchy pouch under a pelican's bill isn't used for storing food for later like a squirrel, but rather as a giant scoop to catch fish and drain out the ocean water before swallowing: it is a built-in fishing bucket.

3. Huge Air-Filled Bones: Even though pelicans can weigh up to thirty pounds and have huge wingspans, their skeletons are actually super lightweight because their bones are filled with air pockets: they are heavy birds with light bones.

4. Spectacular Plunge Divers: Brown pelicans are famous for flying high up into the air and folding their wings to dive straight down into the ocean like feathered arrows to scoop up schools of fish: they are high-diving acrobats.

5. Built-In Buoys: Pelicans have special air sacs underneath their skin that they can inflate and deflate like balloons, which helps them float high on the water and cushions them when they splash down: they have natural lifejackets.

6. Massive Wingspans: With wingspans that can stretch up to nine or ten feet across, pelicans are incredible gliders that can ride high wind currents and even fly in V-shaped flocks like geese: they are soaring sky giants.

7. Teamwork Fishing: White pelicans don't dive from the sky, but instead gather together in a big circle on the water to herd schools of fish right into the shallows where they can easily scoop them up: they fish like a coordinated team.