Ciconia abdimii
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Abdim's stork (Ciconia abdimii), also known as the white-bellied stork, is a stork belonging to the family Ciconiidae. It is the smallest species of stork, feeds mostly on insects, and is found widely in open habitats in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Yemen. The common name commemorates the Ottoman Albanian Governor of Wadi Halfa in Sudan, Bey El-Arnaut Abdim (1780–1827).
Abdim's stork is found widely in open habitats throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, from the Sahel to South Africa, being absent mainly from forests, dense woodlands and deserts. A smaller populations occurs in Yemen. It breeds colonially in trees, on cliffs or rooftops in the northern half of its range (north of the Equator) during the wet season from May to August, migrating to eastern and southern Africa for the remainder of the year. This stork has escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.
Widespread and common throughout its large range, Abdim's stork is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is the subject of several nationally... Wikipedia →
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Abdim's Stork sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 130 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Abdim's Stork in Harare on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and August–October, the lowest months. Those are among Harare's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Abdim's 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.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Abdim's Stork sightings, Harare has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Maiduguri (Nigeria, about 10%) and Kampala (Uganda, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Abdim's Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Harare (130 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.
