Brown Pelicans

Wild life experts are trying to figure out why sick, disoriented and bruised California brown pelicans are being found in record numbers up and down the west coast of North America. The birds, some of them dead, have been spotted from Washington State, to Baja California in Mexico. "People are finding them in unusual places, and they are finding these birds are landing in the middle of the roads--some of them are getting hit by cars. There have been reports of birds landing in people's backyards, which is very unusual behavior for these birds." The pelican started appearing late last month in Southern California. The International Bird Rescue Research Center has received dozens of birds at two Californian facilities. "They are coming in very thin and bit disoriented, usually hypothermic. " They also have bruise inside their pouches and many of the birds' feet have been swollen. Typically, this time of the year there is a significant die-off of young brown pelicans. But marine biologists say they are seeing a larger-than-normal die-off of adults, and some researchers suspect the corporate is a naturally occurring toxin found in algae.