Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
Silhouette: Mike Keesey (vectorization) and Vaibhavcho (photography) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya south to South Africa and in the Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.
It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus. The saddle-billed stork is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), a length of 142 cm (4 ft 8 in), and a 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in) wingspan. While heights published have been in the aforementioned narrow range, reportedly adult saddle-billed storks in captivity can attain a height of up to 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The male is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 5.1–7.52 kg (11.2–16.6 lb), with a mean mass of 6.38 kg (14.1 lb). The female is usually between 5 and 6.84 kg (11.0 and 15.1 lb), with a mean mass of 5.95 kg (13.1 lb). Among the large storks, the saddle-billed broadly... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | SeaWorld Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Busch Gardens Tampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 7 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 12 | Dvůr Králové Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 13 | Réserve africaine de Sigean | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Safari West | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Dallas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | The Maryland Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Parco Natura Viva | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 24 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Franklin Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Night Safari | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 27 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 29 | ABQ BioPark Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | Ouwehands Dierenpark | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 32 | Zoo Santo Inácio | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 33 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 34 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 35 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 36 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 37 | Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 38 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 39 | Potawatomi Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | Van Blanckendaell Park | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 41 | River Wonders | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 42 | Palmitos Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 43 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 44 | Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 45 | Zoo de Lourosa | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 46 | Sobela Ocean Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Zooparque Itatiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Saddle-billed Stork sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 159 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 37th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Saddle-billed Stork in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against about 30% in January, the lowest month. That is one of Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Saddle-billed 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.
4th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Saddle-billed Stork sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 4th at about 50%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 60%), Moremi Game Reserve (Botswana, about 50%) and South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Ciconiidae
The closest relatives of the Saddle-billed Stork that you can see in Lower Zambezi National Park (family Ciconiidae, Storks) are Yellow-billed Stork (about 40%), African Openbilled Stork (about 40%) and Marabou Stork (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Saddle-billed Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (159 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.
