MARABOU STORK

Leptoptilos crumeniferus

BIRD

Order Ciconliformes

Description
About 4 ft tall; wingspan about 8 ft; 10-20 lbs. Sexes alike in coloration; male larger. Very large, heavy bodied stork with a massive conical bill. Bare, dull red-spotted head, neck and gular pouch; long black legs. Mainly dark grey above and white below. Bill 9.5 in. Juvenile similar but duller.
Range
Africa south of the Sahara.
 
Status
Common an most of range. Abundant near towns or large colonies. Rare in South Africa due to habitat destruction. Commercial trade of this species is regulated by international law, since it may become endangered without regulated trade.

 

 

EcoIogy

Habitat

Aquatic and open, semi-arid areas. Often associates with humans near fishing villages and garbage dumps.


Niche

Scavenger, carrion-eater: eats anything from termites, flamingoes and small birds and mammals to human refuse and dead elephants. Attends carcasses with vultures and hyenas. Perches and nests in trees, sometimes nests on cliffs. Gregarious. Has the habits of a vulture, locating carcasses while cruising high in the sky. Migratory or partially migratory. Many are sedentary.
 

Life History


Colonial breeders. Nest is a large flat platform made of sticks with a shallow central cup lined with smaller sticks and green leaves. Usually 2-3 eggs are laid during the dry season. Both sexes incubate; eggs hatch in 30 days. Young are altricial. Both sexes tend and feed the young. Fledging period is 3 to 4 months.

Special Adaptations

  • Keen eyesight for locating carcasses from great distances.
    Large conical bill enables it to stab fish, rats and flamingoes.
  • Large size and large bill make bird unable to di-member carcassesbut allows bird to steal bits of meat from nearby vultures, and to drive vultures from a carcass.
  • Long legs adapted for wading and walking through fields.
  • Long, broad wings allow bird to fly and soar well; it can forage over long distances from the colony.