Wayward pelican eludes capture in Arizona

PHOENIX, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Bird watchers in Arizona are on the lookout for a brown pelican that appears to need treatment for an eye infection.

The bird has been seen a number of times in the last month in the Phoenix area, The Arizona Republic reported. Terry Stevens of the Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation said it is probably a juvenile.

Pelicans are fish eaters that usually live on or near salt water. They are unusual in Arizona but sometimes get there by riding storm winds from the Pacific Coast.

"A lot of times, it's young birds who don't know that riding on these storms can get them into trouble," Stevens said. "They'll come out of the bottom of the clouds and they're 200 miles from the water. The lucky ones find some water to hang out in. The unlucky ones don't. The really unlucky ones see a wet asphalt road and think that's water and dive into it and get injured or killed."

A photograph of the wanted pelican showed a clouded left eye. Stevens' group has been trying to catch the bird for a checkup, but every time the group has received a report of a sighting the pelican has moved on by the time the trappers arrive.