Struthio molybdophanes
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey (from a photo by Jamion Blackwell) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes), also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is a large flightless bird native to the Horn of Africa. It is one of two living species of ostriches, the other being the common ostrich. It was also previously considered a subspecies of the common ostrich, but was identified as a distinct species in 2014. For a long time, Somalis partially domesticated some of these ostriches.
Struthio molybdophanes was first described in the Norddeutsche allgemeine Zeitung Sunday Supplement of 16 September 1883 by Anton Reichenow, who noted the ostrich's distribution as extending over the plains of Somali- and western Galla-Land on the east coast of Africa from 10 degrees north to the Equator. An examination of the mitochondrial DNA of Struthio taxa, including the extinct Arabian ostrich S. c. syriacus, has found that the... Wikipedia →
Song0:11
Ethiopia · 2015
© Andrew Spencer · XC292043 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Temático Hacienda Nápoles | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Bangladesh National Zoo | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 3 | Joya Grande | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Parque del pueblo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | The Zoo Wild Life Park | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 6 | Zoologico Sahuatoba | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Unidad de Manejo Ambiental | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Parque del Centenario | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Somali Ostrich sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 354th most-seen of the 380 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Somali Ostrich in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Somali Ostrich sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Somali Ostrich sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 60%), Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 30%) and Meru National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Somali Ostrich is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (11 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.
