Marabou Stork

Marabou Stork
: Animalia  : Chordata  : Aves  : Ciconiiformes  : Ciconiidae  : Leptoptilos : crumeniferus
Binomial name
Leptoptilos crumeniferus (Lesson, 1831)

The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. In breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near habitation, especially waste tips.

It is a huge bird, 150cm in length, and its 3.2 m (10.5 ft)wingspan means that it shares the distinction of "longest wingspan of any landbird" with the Andean Condor.

The Marabou is unmistakable due to its size, bare head and neck, black back, and white underparts. It has a huge bill, a pink gular sack at its throat, a neck ruff, and black legs and wings. Sexes are alike. The young bird is browner and has a smaller bill. Full maturity is not reached for up to four years.

Like most storks, the Marabou is gregarious and a colonial breeder . In the African dry season (when food is more readily available as the pools shrink) it builds a tree nest in which two or three eggs are laid.

It also resembles other storks in that it is not very vocal, but indulges in bill-rattling courtship displays . The throat sack is also used to make various noises at that time.

The Marabou Stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this, as it is with the vultures with which the stork often feeds. In both cases, a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird's head was inside a large corpse, and the bare head is easier to keep clean.

This large and powerful bird will also feed on small mammals, reptiles, and similar prey.