These are widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and are also found in New Guinea, Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand. They are highly mobile, searching out suitable areas of water with an adequate supply of food such as freshwater, estuarine and marine wetlands and waterways including lakes, swamps, rivers, coastal islands and shores.
They may feed alone but more often feed as a cooperative group, sometimes these groups are quite large and have been numbered at over 1,900 birds. The group works together driving fish into a concentrated mass using their bills and beating their wings, the fish are then herded into shallow water or surrounded in ever decreasing circles.
Though not capable of sustained flapping flight Pelicans can remain in the air for 24 hours and cover hundreds of kilometers, they are excellent soarers and use thermals to rise to considerable altitudes.
Nesting is communal, with colonies located on islands or sheltered areas in the vicinity of lakes or the sea, the nest is a shallow depression in earth or sand, sometimes with some grass lining. The sexes are similar but males are larger than females.