Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
Silhouette: Mike Keesey (vectorization) and Vaibhavcho (photography) ยท PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% 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, Cรดte 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 5.1โ7.52 kg (11.2โ16.6 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...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Moremi Game Reserve | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | |
| 3 | South Luangwa National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | |
| 5 | Ruaha National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 6 | Murchison Falls National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Kafue National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 10 | Liwonde National Park | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | |
| 11 | Amboseli National Park | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 12 | Pendjari National Park | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | |
| 13 | Tarangire National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 14 | Hwange National Park | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | |
| 15 | Gorongosa National Park | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | |
| 16 | Arusha National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 17 | Masai Mara National Reserve | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 18 | Mikumi National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 19 | Lake Nakuru National Park | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | |
| 20 | Chobe National Park | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | |
| 21 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 22 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 23 | Akagera National Park | ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | |
| 24 | Virunga National Park | ๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 25 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 26 | Serengeti National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 27 | Lake Manyara National Park | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | |
| 28 | Lake Mburo National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 29 | Awash National Park | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | |
| 30 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | |
| 31 | Mole National Park | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | |
| 32 | Semuliki National Park | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | |
| 33 | Etosha National Park | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 2 | SeaWorld Orlando | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 3 | Busch Gardens Tampa | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 4 | San Diego Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 5 | Moscow Zoo | ๐ท๐บ Russia | |
| 6 | Pairi Daiza | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | |
| 7 | Tierpark Berlin | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 8 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 9 | Dresden Zoo | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 10 | Barcelona Zoo | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 11 | Zlรญn-Leลกnรก Zoo | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 12 | Dvลฏr Krรกlovรฉ Zoo | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | |
| 13 | Rรฉserve africaine de Sigean | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 14 | Parc des oiseaux | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 15 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 16 | Safari West | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 17 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 18 | Kansas City Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 19 | Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 20 | Sedgwick County Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 21 | Dallas Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 22 | The Maryland Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 23 | Parco Natura Viva | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | |
| 24 | Saint Louis Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 25 | Franklin Park Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 26 | Night Safari | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | |
| 27 | Fort Worth Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 28 | Singapore Zoo | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | |
| 29 | ABQ BioPark Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 30 | Philadelphia Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 31 | Ouwehands Dierenpark | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | |
| 32 | Zoo Santo Inรกcio | ๐ต๐น Portugal | |
| 33 | Bird Paradise | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | |
| 34 | Aquarama Barcelona | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 35 | Rainforest Wild Asia | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | |
| 36 | Valencia Bioparc | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 37 | Reserva Zoolรณgica Oasys MiniHollywood | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 38 | Vogelpark Avifauna | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | |
| 39 | Potawatomi Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 40 | Van Blanckendaell Park | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | |
| 41 | River Wonders | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | |
| 42 | Palmitos Park | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 43 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | |
| 44 | Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 45 | Zoo de Lourosa | ๐ต๐น Portugal | |
| 46 | Sobela Ocean Aquarium | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 47 | Zooparque Itatiba | ๐ง๐ท Brazil |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Saddle-billed Stork sighting in Pendjari National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 15 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Saddle-billed Stork in Pendjari National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and April, the lowest months. That is one of Pendjari National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 190 mm in August.
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.
12th of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Saddle-billed Stork sightings, Pendjari National Park ranks 12th at about 30%. 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 Pendjari National Park (family Ciconiidae, Storks) are Marabou Stork (about 30%) and African Woolly-necked Stork (about 20%), 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 Pendjari National Park (6 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.
