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Why do pelicans not use their throat pouches to store fish?

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Three eastern white pelicans with black-tipped wings take off from a muddy shoreline, wings outstretched, with blurred green vegetation in the background. — Pelecaniform European white pelicans (*Pelecanus onocrotalus*) in flight.

Pelicans do not use their throat pouches to store fish because they swallow their prey immediately after catching it. While the large, elastic pouch is a distinctive feature of the pelican, it functions primarily as a dip-net to scoop up fish from the water rather than as a storage container.12