---
title: "Pink-backed Pelican"
description: "Pelecanus rufescens — Birds. The pink-backed pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) is a bird of the pelican family."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pink-backed-pelican
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pink-backed Pelican

> Pelecanus rufescens — Birds. The pink-backed pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) is a bird of the pelican family.

- Scientific name: *Pelecanus rufescens*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 2477
- Wikidata: [Q527830](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q527830)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4335](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4335)

## Names

- en: Pink-backed Pelican
- de: Rötelpelikan
- es: Pelícano rosado
- fr: Pélican gris
- nl: Kleine pelikaan
- pt: Pelicano-cinzento
- pl: Pelikan mały

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (447), KE (273), UG (237), GM (216), SN (201), TZ (99), BW (97), ZM (51), ET (48), GA (46), FR (44), SA (40)

## Summary

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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink-backed_pelican

## Photo

![Pink-backed Pelican](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pink-backed-pelican/medium.jpg)

Photo: Raffaele Maiorano · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/317220072

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pink-backed-pelican?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).