Known on both  North American coasts from Virginia and Washington to the north and northern Chile and the Amazon River mouth to the south, the brown pelican is the smallest of the eight species o pelican. The brown pelican was threatened in California and southeastern United States by DDT, which led to the elimination of the use of DDT in the country. The brown pelican is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It is the national bird of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the state bird of Louisiana.