Hamerkop: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the hamerkop lives – recorded in 27 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Scopus umbretta
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	27 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Scopidae

Where does the hamerkop live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the hamerkop in 27 countries and territories across Africa and Asia. Wikidata gives its range as: Africa.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the hamerkop endangered?

The hamerkop’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the hamerkop?

The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is a bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the family Scopidae, genus Scopus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the hamerkop

The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), also called the umbrette, is a medium-sized water bird with brown plumage. It is found in mainland Africa, Madagascar and Arabia, living in a wide variety of wetlands, including estuaries, lakesides, fish ponds, riverbanks, and rocky coasts. The shape of its head, with its long bill and crest at the back, gives this species its name, hamerkop being the Afrikaans word for hammerhead. Long considered to sit with the Ciconiiformes, the species and its family is now placed with the Pelecaniformes, its closest relatives thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill. It is the only living species in the genus Scopus and the family Scopidae.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Hamerkop (revision 1363093966), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q652151 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).