They also have a long history of cultural significance in mythology, and in Christian and heraldic iconography.

Their populations have fallen through habitat destruction, disturbance, and environmental pollution, and three species are of conservation concern. The birds have been persecuted because of their perceived competition with commercial and recreational fishing. The relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees. They are gregarious birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively, and breeding colonially. Pelicans frequent inland and coastal waters, where they feed principally on fish, catching them at or near the water surface. The eight living pelican species have a patchy global distribution, ranging latitudinally from the tropics to the temperate zone, though they are absent from interior South America and from polar regions and the open ocean.

The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all species become brightly coloured before the breeding season. They have predominantly pale plumage, the exceptions being the brown and Peruvian pelicans. They are characterised by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae.

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