[citation needed] With a range spanning across much of Central Eurasia, from the eastern Mediterranean in the west to the Taiwan Strait in the east, and from the Persian Gulf in the south to Siberia in the north, it is a short-to-medium-distance migrant between breeding and overwintering areas.

[1] No subspecies are known to exist over its wide range, but based on size differences, a Pleistocene paleosubspecies, P. c. palaeocrispus, has been described from fossils recovered at Binagadi raion in Azerbaijan.

The species' numbers dramatically declined during the 20th century, partly due to land use, disturbance and poaching activities.

Removal of power lines to prevent bird strike or electrocution and constructing nesting platforms or rafts have reversed declines locally.

[5][11] More recently, six male Dalmatians were found to average 10.4 kg (23 lb) and four females 8.7 kg (19 lb), around the same average weight as the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and slightly lighter than mean body masses from other huge birds such as the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) or Andean condor (Vultur gryphus).

These same five species are probably rank as the largest flying birds in Asia as well, alongside the Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis).

[8][15] However, the Dalmatian differs from this other very large species in that it has curly nape feathers, grey legs and silvery-white (rather than pure white) plumage.

When a whole flock of Dalmatian pelicans is in flight, all its members move in graceful synchrony, their necks held back like a heron's.

Compared to the great white pelican, the Dalmatian is not as tied to lowland areas and will nest in suitable wetlands with many elevations.

[17] The pelicans that breed in Mongolia winter along the east coast of China, including the Hong Kong area.

During periods where the climate was warmer, the Dalmatian pelican was far more widespread in Europe (today its European range is restricted to the southeastern part of the continent).

[22] This preference for warmer temperatures is also supported by movements recorded in recent history, as there are indications of a slow range expansion in response to climate change.

It normally swims along, placidly and slowly, until it quickly dunks its head underwater and scoops the fish out, along with great masses of water.

[15] Occasionally, the pelican may not immediately eat the fish contained in its gular pouch, so it can save the prey for later consumption.

[15] Nesting sites selected are usually either islands in large bodies of water (typically lagoons or river deltas[17]) or dense mats of aquatic vegetation, such as extensive reedbeds of Phragmites and Typha.

[18] The nest is a moderately-sized pile of grass, reeds, sticks, and feathers, usually measuring about 1 m (3.3 ft) deep and 63 cm (25 in) across.

Colonies are regularly disturbed by human activity, and, like all pelicans, the parents may temporarily leave their nest if threatened, which then exposes the chicks to the risk of predation.

Occasionally, Dalmatian pelicans may be shot by fishermen who believe the birds are dangerously depleting the fish population and hence threatening their livelihood.

[17] While such killings are generally on a small scale, the worry that these pelicans over-exploit the fishing stock persists in many locales.

[32] Due to exploitation at all stages of the life cycle, the species is critically endangered in its Mongolian range, with a total population of fewer than 130 individual birds.

[15] In 1994 in Europe there were over a thousand breeding pairs, most of them in Greece, but also in Ukraine, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria (Srebarna Nature Reserve) and Albania (Karavasta Lagoon).

[32] In 2012, when unusually frigid winter conditions caused the Caspian Sea to freeze over, it resulted in the death from starvation of at least twenty of the Dalmatian pelicans that overwinter there.

Despite local authorities' initial attempts to discourage it, many people there turned out with fish and hand-fed the birds, apparently enabling the huge pelicans to survive the winter.