Ciconia microscelis
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The African woolly-necked stork or African woollyneck (Ciconia microscelis) is a species of large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds singly, or in small loose colonies. It is distributed in a wide variety of habitats including marshes in forests, agricultural areas, and freshwater wetlands across Africa.
It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Asian woolly-necked stork (C. episcopus), and called the woolly-necked stork, but was split as a distinct species by the International Ornithological Congress in 2023 on the basis of its allopatric range and significant plumage and morphological differences.
The African woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork at 75–92 cm tall. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. The stork is glistening black overall with a black "skull cap", a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark coloured plumage. Feathers on the fore-neck are iridescent with a coppery-purple tinge. These feathers are elongated and can be erected during displays. The tail is deeply forked and is white, usually covered by the black long under... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Garden of South Africa | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Woolly-necked Stork sighting in Dar es-Salaam on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 120th most-seen of the 138 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Woolly-necked Stork in Dar es-Salaam on a given day, against under 5% in January–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Woolly-necked Stork sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate African Woolly-necked Stork sightings, Dar es-Salaam ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 40%) and Durban (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Ciconiidae
The closest relatives of the African Woolly-necked Stork that you can see in Dar es-Salaam (family Ciconiidae, Storks) are Yellow-billed Stork (about 20%) and African Openbilled Stork (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Woolly-necked Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Dar es-Salaam (7 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.
