I wouldn’t mess with a pelican, a 9-foot wingspan. Lawonn: It’s more the chicks, right? It takes several months to grow a pelican chick, and pelican chicks are relatively defenseless.

Those sites are harder for predators like coyotes to access, and so offer protections to pelican chicks. They also provide easy access to food for adult birds that eat 4 pounds of fish per day.

Louisiana's state flag features a crest that's centered upon a blue backdrop which features a nest with a mother pelican and her three chicks. Beneath the crest is the state's motto, "Union ...