Pelican

Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that makes up the family Pelecanidae. 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. They have predominantly pale plumage, the exceptions being the brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches and bare facial skin of all species become brightly coloured before the breeding season. 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 as well as from polar regions and the open ocean.

Long thought to be related to frigatebirds, cormorants, tropicbirds, gannets and boobies, pelicans instead are now known to be most closely related to the shoebill and hamerkop, and are placed in the order Pelecaniformes. Ibises, spoonbills and herons are more distant relatives, and have been classified in the same order. Fossil evidence of pelicans dates back to at least 30 million years to the remains of a beak very similar to that of modern species recovered from Oligocene strata in France. They are thought to have evolved in the Old World and spread into the Americas; this is reflected in the relationships within the genus as the eight species divide into Old World and New World lineages.

Pelican (magazine)

Pelican is the University of Western Australia's official student magazine. It is financed by the UWA Guild, but maintains complete editorial independence. 5000 copies of each issue are published and distributed across metropolitan Perth, as well as to Notre Dame, Murdoch, Curtin, ECU, and Central TAFE. It is Australia's second oldest student paper, having begun publication in 1929.

Pelican is published 8 times a year, roughly coinciding with each month of semester at the University of Western Australia. Easily distinguishable by its square tabloid format and professional design, Pelican has a readership of around 10,000 per edition and is aimed at Perth's tertiary students and young people aged between 17 and 27 frequenting the inner metropolitan area. Each edition is centred on a theme and includes regular reviews (books, music, television, film, and arts), opinion pieces, campus events listing, and current affairs analysis.

History

Founded in 1929, Pelican lays claim to being the country's second-oldest student newspaper, after Farrago. Originally, Pelican took the form of a weekly current affairs broadsheet. It then evolved into a monthly newspaper, and was later transformed into a "tabloid" sized magazine by editor Elizabeth Shaw. In 2007, Magda Wozniak introduced a glossy cover which continued throughout 2008 as well as the first edition of 2009. Due to the 2009 recession, Pelican has been forced to revert to a newspaper print cover.

Pelican (dinghy)

The Pelican is a pram dinghy, peculiar to Perth, Western Australia

It is similar to the ubiquitous Mirror being a gunter rigged pram designed for a crew of two, except that it is a little smaller and usually rigged only with main and spinnaker. Originally constructed in timber they may are now constructed in fibreglass. A variant of the Pelican class sailed at Lake Maquarie is also rigged with a jib.

Foils

The rudder is made from wood or fibreglass. The daggerboard is made of aluminium improving its longevity and ease of maintenance.

Sails

In 2014 the class rules were updated to allow Polyester Laminate sails (Mylar). This and Dacron are the only materials allowed.

The class evolved in the 1950s from the tenders of local sail boats - these were jury rigged with sails for races between crews of sail boats moared at Rottnest. The class peaked with over 270 hulls registered with about 70 currently active (cite WA newspapers report Jan 2008).

It remains a popular beginners' dingy class in Perth.

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