A US man claims a low-flying pelican caused him to veer off a road and drive his $1m Bugatti Veyron into a salt marsh.

La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist says the man claimed he lost concentration while driving his French-built Bugatti because the bird swooped into sight.

Gilchrist says the driver dropped his phone, reached down to pick it up and strayed into the brackish water in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.

Gilchrist does not know if the car can be salvaged but conceded that "salt water isn't good for anything."

He says the man, whose identity has not been released, was not injured in the accident.