Happy World Migratory Bird Day!

08 May, 2026

Abdim’s Stork (Ciconia abdimii) is one of seven bird species designated as ambassadors for World Migratory Bird Day 2026. Photo by Stephanie Bartlett.

World Migratory Bird Day is officially celebrated on the second Saturday of May in Canada and the US, and the second Saturday of October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. At IBCP of course, every day is Bird Day, and anytime is the perfect time to celebrate birds! In 2026, seven bird species designated as ambassadors for World Migratory Bird Day 2026, including Abdim’s Stork, shown here as seen in Togo, where Stephanie Bartlett and Paulo Ditzel documented the first record of this species for the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park in 2026. Named for Adolphe Abdim, an Ethiopian naturalist, Abdim’s Stork breeds across the Sahel and northern Africa during the rainy season, and wintering further south during the dry season. Many storks perform spectacular migrations, exemplifying what has long been one of the greatest mysteries of the nature world to capture the human imagination.

Abdim’s Stock breeding range (in orange) and wintering range (in blue), as featured in Birds of the World.