Great White Pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus
- Family
- Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to see it
Destination guides featuring this bird
Range and habitat
Locally in south-central Eurasia, southern Asia, and Africa.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Moldova
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Great white pelican
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
