Pelecanus onocrotalus
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda ยท PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), also known as the eastern white pelican (in contrast to the western pelican of the Americas), rosy pelican or simply white pelican, is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.
The great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (IUCN). It is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Annexure I under the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It is also listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in its European range. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is applied.
The great white pelican was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Pelecanus onocrotalus. The species...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Nakuru National Park | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 2 | Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | |
| 3 | Amboseli National Park | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 4 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 5 | Lake Manyara National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 7 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 8 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 9 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 10 | Keoladeo National Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 11 | Gorongosa National Park | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | |
| 12 | Moremi Game Reserve | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | |
| 13 | Tarangire National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 14 | Ruaha National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 15 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 16 | South Luangwa National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | |
| 17 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | |
| 18 | Chobe National Park | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | |
| 19 | Wadden Sea National Park | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 20 | Liwonde National Park | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | |
| 21 | Serengeti National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 22 | Nairobi National Park | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 23 | Virunga National Park | ๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 24 | Samburu National Reserve | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 25 | Murchison Falls National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 26 | Arusha National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 27 | Etosha National Park | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | |
| 28 | Kibale National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 29 | Table Mountain National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 30 | Kruger National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajkot | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 2 | Jaipur | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 3 | Dakar | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | |
| 4 | Cape Town | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 5 | Serrekunda | ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia | |
| 6 | Maputo | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | |
| 7 | Durban | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 8 | Beirut | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | |
| 9 | Izmir | ๐น๐ท Turkey | |
| 10 | Kampala | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 2 | Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 3 | SeaWorld Orlando | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 4 | Chimelong Spaceship | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 5 | San Diego Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 6 | Moscow Zoo | ๐ท๐บ Russia | |
| 7 | Pairi Daiza | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | |
| 8 | Prague Zoo | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 9 | Basel Zoo | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | |
| 10 | ZooParc de Beauval | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 11 | Copenhagen Zoo | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | |
| 12 | Tierpark Berlin | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 13 | Natura Artis Magistra | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | |
| 14 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 15 | Dresden Zoo | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 16 | Zlรญn-Leลกnรก Zoo | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 17 | Zoo Pilsen | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 18 | Parc Phลnix | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 19 | Fota Wildlife Park | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | |
| 20 | Rรฉserve africaine de Sigean | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 21 | Jihlava Zoo | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 22 | Walsrode World Bird Park | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 23 | Zoologic park de Lille | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 24 | Parc des oiseaux | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 25 | Kaliningrad Zoo | ๐ท๐บ Russia | |
| 26 | Karagandy Zoo | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | |
| 27 | Gazipur Safari Park | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | |
| 28 | Nandankanan Zoological Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 29 | Arignar Anna Zoological Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 30 | Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 31 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 32 | Whipsnade Zoo | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | |
| 33 | Beijing Wildlife Park | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 34 | Safaripark Beekse Bergen | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | |
| 35 | Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 36 | Indroda Nature Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 37 | Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 38 | Nehru Zoological Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 39 | Tiergarten Hannover | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 40 | Parc animalier de Sainte-Croix | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 41 | Ramat Gan Safari | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | |
| 42 | Bratislava Zoo | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | |
| 43 | Brookfield Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 44 | Chimelong Safari Park | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 45 | National Zoological Park Delhi | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 46 | Bangladesh National Zoo | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | |
| 47 | Beijing Zoo | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 48 | Indira Gandhi Zoological Park | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | |
| 49 | Shanghai Zoo | ๐จ๐ณ China | |
| 50 | Sedgwick County Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican sighting in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, based on 201 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to March
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, against about 70% in April, the lowest month. Those are among Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in August. May to October have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great White Pelican sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 30 parks where we can rate Great White Pelican sightings, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary ranks 2nd at about 80%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 80%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great White Pelican is recorded against all the birds logged in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (201 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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 "โ". How it works.
