People caught two strange birds whose feathers change color with the seasons and have a wingspan of 1.2m.

Accordingly, on the afternoon of January 6, Mr. Ngo Van Xu (46 years old, living in Phu Loc town, Phu Loc district, Thua Thien Hue province) while harvesting fish in the lagoon area of ​​Phu Loc town saw an unusually large strange bird caught in the net. Mr. Xu removed the bird and brought it home.

Upon inspection, the bird looked like a pelican but was very large with a long yellow beak, weighing 9 kg, and a wingspan of 1.2 meters. Notably, this bird was 1.6 meters tall when it stretched its neck, the same height as an adult. This bird had webbed feet like a duck's feet. Under the beak and neck of this bird was a yellow food pouch.

Mr. Ngo Van Xu with the giant bird he caught.

Many villagers came to see. Some wanted to buy it but Mr. Xu did not sell. Later, in this area, another villager caught another bird similar to the one Mr. Xu caught.

Mr. Nguyen Dai Anh Tuan, Head of the Thua Thien Hue Forest Protection Department, said that this is a grey-legged pelican. The grey-legged pelican is a rare species listed in the IUCN Red Book of protected species; scientific name Pelecanus philippensis, family Pelecanidae. This species is distributed in South Asia from southern Pakistan through India to Indonesia, and also in Vietnam.

According to Mr. Tuan, this bird has very interesting identification features. Specifically, in the summer, the feathers on the neck extend into a light brown crest, the other feathers on the head and neck are white, with brown bases. The primary wing and wing coverts are light black, the shoulder feathers, tail feathers and secondary wing feathers are brown. The rest of the plumage is white, the back, flanks and undertail are pinkish purple.

In winter, the bird's feathers change color. The head, neck, and back feathers are white, and the wings and tail are brown. The grey-legged pelican lives in lakes, estuaries, and along the coast.

The strange bird is huge, has a long beak, and its feathers change color according to the two seasons, summer and winter. The underside of this pelican's beak contains a lot of fish.

Currently, this pelican species has suffered a serious decline in numbers and is classified as EN (endangered). The main reason is that its feeding grounds are gradually disappearing or shrinking and are severely disturbed. Authorities recommend minimizing the disturbance to the feeding grounds of this species in protected areas and tidal flats at river mouths.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thua Thien Hue province has just coordinated with functional forces to release two pink-legged pelicans back into the wild.

Two large pelicans were caught by people living along Cau Hai lagoon in Thua Thien Hue province.

There is a tracking device attached to the pelican's back.