One of the things that I like about birding is that it taught me to look for and appreciate the tiny, the inconspicuous, the seemingly unimportant. I remember the first several times I asked experienced birders to help me ID a small bird I had seen. “What color were the legs?” they would ask. Did it have a sharply pointed beak? Did it have stripes on its wings? Was the tail long or short? Was it bobbing its tail?

I usually did not know how to answer. But I learned a valuable lesson: Every little detail is important.

How does this apply when it comes to picking the American White Pelican out of a crowd? Go ahead, quiz me:

Leg color? Orange/yellow.

Sharply pointed beak? Kinda.

Stripes on the wings? No, but black on the wing tips.

Tail length: Short.

Does it bob its tail? Who cares?....

Because, by the way, it’s pure white (except for those wingtips), weighs as much as a turkey, and has a wingspan of nine feet. It is among the heaviest flying birds in the world. You can’t mistake it for a Cockatoo.

As it turns out, small details are important, but sometimes you just need to pay attention to the big things.

Believe it or not, that is more difficult than it sounds. For the first half century of my life in the Midwest, for all I knew about the American White Pelican, it might as well have been a Cockatoo. I had no idea they even existed at all, let alone right here in the Chicago area.

And I’m not alone. Go into any neighborhood pub in Chicago—once they open again—and ask the regulars seated at the bar if they know where you can get a Malört. Silly question; any self-respecting Chicago pub will offer it. Then ask those same people where you can find a pelican and you’ll probably be told: Key West, or the Lincoln Park Zoo. In fact, place bar bets on “True or false: There are wild pelicans in Chicago,” and you might just win yourself a few shots of Malört.

To understand why the average lush does not know about the American White Pelican, ask your new friends at the pub: What bird is bigger than a breadbox, is pure white (when its wings are folded), has a long neck, and is often seen floating on a large pond? They will answer: Swan. End of discussion.

I have no idea how many American White Pelicans I’ve seen over the years, and just drove by, handicapped by my preconceptions, assuming they were swans. If instead I had stopped to take a closer look, I might have noticed the massive orange bill, with the pendulant webbing. I would have seen the birds dipping and scooping up small fish as they swam. (The American White Pelican does not perform the spectacular nosedives of its cousin, the Brown Pelican.) I might even have seen them hunting in groups, floating in circles that slowly close in on themselves, like avian cowpunchers corralling the school of fish below for easier scooping. Maybe I would have seen them soaring overhead, majestic flocks of twenty, thirty birds, massive wings outstretched as they ride the thermals, spiraling higher and higher, chasing flying fish that only they can see. Oh, the things I would have seen, if I had only looked.

It’s never too late to learn that Yogi Berra was right: You can observe a lot just by watching.

Next time you see a large white bird floating on a lake or pond, of course it might well be a swan.

But maybe you shouldn’t be so sure.

Dan's Feathursday Feature is a regular contribution to the COS blog featuring the thoughts, insights and pictures of Chicago birder, Dan Lory on birds of the Chicago region.

Dan's Feathursday Feature: American White Pelican