Pelecanus onocrotalus
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican sighting in Ruaha National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 276 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican in Ruaha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, June and August–October, the lowest months. That is one of Ruaha National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 180 mm in January.
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.
13th of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Great White Pelican sightings, Ruaha National Park ranks 13th at about 10%. The best odds are in Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 80%), Amboseli National Park (Kenya, about 50%) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Pelecaniformes
The closest relatives of the Great White Pelican that you can see in Ruaha National Park (order Pelecaniformes, Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies) are Hamerkop (about 50%), Hadada (about 40%) and Goliath Heron (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great White Pelican is recorded against all the birds logged in Ruaha National Park (17 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.
