Pink-backed Pelican
Pelecanus rufescens
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyPelecanidae (Pelicans)
- GenusPelecanus (Pelicans)
- SpeciesPelecanus rufescens (Pink-backed Pelican)
The pink-backed pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also been extirpated from Madagascar. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-backed Pelican sighting in Tsavo East National Park, based on 16 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Tsavo East National Park
Great White Pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus
Black-headed Heron
Ardea melanocephala
African Sacred Ibis
Threskiornis aethiopicus
Hadada
Bostrychia hagedash
Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
African Spoonbill
Platalea alba
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
intermediate egret
Egretta intermedia
Hamerkop
Scopus umbretta
Dimorphic Egret
Egretta dimorpha
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Pink-backed Pelican in Tsavo East National Park?
About 1% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-backed Pelican sighting in Tsavo East National Park, based on 16 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Pink-backed Pelican in Tsavo East National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Pink-backed Pelican in Tsavo East National Park in our monthly data.