Brown Pelicans off San Diego

Always photogenic, here are some photos of Brown Pelicans off San Diego on January 1, 2019.

These happened to be all adults photographed this day. They are in breeding plumage with the dark hind-neck, which is white in non-breeding plumage.

You will note some birds with bright red gular pouches. This is typical for breeding California Brown Pelicans. Gulf Coast and Atlantic birds generally have gray or brown gular pouches, rarely red. But I note some of these birds have green gular pouches, so I don't know what to make of this supposed difference. Maybe it's an "average difference," and not an "absolute difference"? I do notice, now, that the head is yellower on the birds with red pouches. Perhaps the birds with the dull pouches are just not yet fully in breeding plumage? Perhaps their pouches will yet turn red and the tops of their heads yellow?

Perfectly, the term for a group of pelicans is a "platoon" or "pouch."