Pelecanus philippensis
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.
The spot-billed pelican was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other pelicans in the genus Pelecanus and coined the binomial name Pelecanus philippensis. Gmelin based his description on "Le pélican des Philippines" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. Brisson's specimen had been collected on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The spot-billed pelican is a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Mysuru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Tiruppur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Hyderabad | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Tiruchirappalli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Nandankanan Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Arignar Anna Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Khao Kheow Open Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Planète Sauvage | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Safari World | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Bannerghatta Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Gembira Loka Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 11 | Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 12 | Thiruvananthapuram Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Children's Park, Guindy | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Amirthi Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Farm in the City | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 17 | Johor Zoo | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 18 | Bird Park | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 19 | Mořský svět | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 20 | Singapore Miniature Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 21 | Svět medúz | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Pelican sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 3,275 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 20th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Pelican in Chennai on a given day, against about 20% in June and July, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey Pelican sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Grey Pelican sightings, Chennai has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (Sri Lanka, about 30%) and Mysuru (India, about 20%).
Same order: Pelecaniformes
The closest relatives of the Grey Pelican that you can see in Chennai (order Pelecaniformes, Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies) are Indian Pond Heron (about 60%), Little Egret (about 50%) and Grey Heron (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey Pelican is recorded against all the birds logged in Chennai (3,275 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
