Anastomus lamelligerus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species of stork from the family Ciconiidae. It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar. This species is considered common to locally abundant across its range, although it has a patchy distribution. Scientists distinguish between the two sub-species due to the more pronounced longitudinal ridges on the bills of adult A. l. madagascariensis. The Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) found in Asia is the African openbill's closest relative. The two species share the same notably large bill of a peculiar shape that gives them their name.
The African openbill is a stork measuring 80–94 cm (31–37 in) and weighing 1–1.3 kg (2.2–2.9 lb). The species does not exhibit any major sexual dimorphism, although the males are slightly larger than the females and have a longer and heavier bill. The adult bill is between 135–196 mm (5.3–7.7 in) in length, brownish in color and has a gap between the upper and lower mandible. This gap is non... Wikipedia →
Call1:00
Zambia · 2007
© Derek Solomon · XC84191 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 5 | Maputo | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | |
| 7 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 9 | Lagos | 🇳🇬 Nigeria |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | Dvůr Králové Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 7 | Réserve africaine de Sigean | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 11 | San Francisco Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | ZooTampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Tiergarten Wels | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 15 | Bali Bird Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 16 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 17 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 18 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 19 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Openbilled Stork sighting in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 219th most-seen of the 369 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and May–July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Openbilled Stork in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April and August–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Openbilled 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.
30th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate African Openbilled Stork sightings, Lake Nakuru National Park ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 80%), Chobe National Park (Botswana, about 50%) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Ciconiidae
The closest relatives of the African Openbilled Stork that you can see in Lake Nakuru National Park (family Ciconiidae, Storks) are Marabou Stork (about 70%), Yellow-billed Stork (about 70%) and Saddle-billed Stork (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Openbilled Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Lake Nakuru National Park (49 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 "—". How it works.
