Pelecanus onocrotalus
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 293rd most-seen of the 341 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great White Pelican in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–April, the lowest months. Those are among Samburu National Reserve's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 95 mm in April.
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.
23rd of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Great White Pelican sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 23rd at under 5%. 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 Samburu National Reserve (order Pelecaniformes, Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies) are Black-headed Heron (about 30%), Cattle Egret (about 20%) and Hadada (about 20%), 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 Samburu National Reserve (12 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.
