Discover the 18 Largest Flying Birds in North Carolina

"In North Carolina, you’ll find a few brown pelicans sticking around all year, although extremely cold weather can cause frostbite on their webbed feet and pouches.

Length: 48 inches

Wingspan: 84 inches

These large birds are mostly gray-brown and have a unique, pouched beak. When it’s time to mate, their head feathers turn a vivid yellow, and their necks go white, but these colors fade to more muted tones when they’re not breeding.

These birds are commonly found near coastal beaches and lagoons, where they feed on medium-sized fish and some small sea creatures, needing about four pounds of food each day. Brown pelicans are the only species known for their dramatic dives from heights of 30 to 60 feet to catch their prey."