#0882 · 🐦 birds

Great White Pelican

🇳🇱 Roze Pelikaan ·Pelecanus onocrotalus

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in the Netherlands

9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The great white pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus ) also known as the eastern white pelican , rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.

base stats

NL sightings 7iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 10,561iNaturalist observations
weight 11.5 kgadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 7 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
10,561 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Weighs up to about 11.5 kg.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Great White Pelican
Nederlands: Roze Pelikaan
scientific name: Pelecanus onocrotalus
class: Aves
order: Pelecaniformes
family: Pelecanidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
sightings in NL: 7
sightings in Europe: 2,039
sightings worldwide: 10,561
GBIF records in NL: 4,476
weight: 11.5 kg
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1758

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Pelecanidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4327, Wikidata Q199427, GBIF 2480350, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.