 The legends of self @-@ wounding and the provision of blood may have arisen because of the impression a pelican sometimes gives that it is stabbing itself with its bill . In reality , it often presses this onto its chest in order to fully empty the pouch . Another possible derivation is the tendency of the bird to rest with its bill on its breast ; the Dalmatian pelican has a blood @-@ red pouch in the early breeding season and this may have contributed to the myth . 
