High over the water off the California coast, riding the air on eight feet of wings, a brown pelican spots its target below.

They have a pretty effective way to catch that fish.

First they take aim...bank left... Then dive downward at 40 miles an hour.

Bulls-eye!

But one mistake, and they could wind up with a broken wing, a snapped neck, even blind.

So how does this massive bird survive a 40-foot drop onto rock-hard water?

A big part of it is just good form.

See how the wings shoot back right before impact?

That safeguards the delicate bones there.

At the same instant, powerful muscles tense around the spine, keeping the bird from snapping its neck.

While sheaths called nictitating membranes slide over the eyes like a pair of swim goggles.

But most of the credit goes to that magnificent, sword-shaped bill.

It's contoured to slice into the surface at high speed with almost no drag.

Pelicans are surface hunters, not divers.

When they hit the water, they also hit the brakes, reaching with their necks to snag fish.

They slow down thanks to a built-in life vest, a special network of extra air sacs under the skin around their neck and belly, even in their bones.

When it plummets, the pelican takes a deep breath and air rushes into those tiny caverns, called pneumatic foramina.

That air cushions the impact and makes them float.

And this bird comes equipped with another flotation device.

Meet the gular pouch.

See how it pops open, like a parachute?

That also helps slow the bird down.

It's made of super-stretchy skin, re-enforced with collagen fibers that keep it from breaking.

Pretty handy fishing net, too, thanks to extra-flexible jaw that can open sideways....not just up and down.

A pelican's pouch holds much more than its belly can, about three gallons of water, which has to be squeezed out before the big gulp.

The whole routine takes practice.

These young ones have got some room for improvement.

But pelicans have been making it work for an incredibly long time.

This fossil is 30 million years old, and it's almost identical to the aerodynamic high-divers that you see living today.

This pelican looks more red than brown, right?

That's a sign that it's breeding season, which for California pelicans, is in the winter.

That's when they get gussied up and head south to Baja.

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