| Marabou Stork | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Leptoptilos crumeniferus |
The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae.
It is a huge (150 cm length) bird of Africa south of the Sahara. It occurs in both wet and arid habitats, often near habitation, especially waste tips.
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.
This is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this, as with the vultures with which it 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 take small mammals, reptiles, and similar prey.