Bird watching in Africa - Marabou Stork

The Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites. It is sometimes called the "undertaker bird" due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and back, skinny white legs, and sometimes a large white mass of "hair".

Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) distribution map.
Based on data from Elliott, A. (1992). "Family Ciconidae (Storks)".

By Vicpeters - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22540870

Etymology
The name marabou is thought to be derived from the Arabic word murābit meaning quiet or hermit-like. The species was originally described in the stork genus Ciconia as Ciconia crumenifera by Lesson. The species was moved into the genus Leptoptilos and the ending was modified to crumeniferus and used by many authors until it was noted that the correct masculine ending to match the genus is crumenifer.

Description
The Marabou Stork is a massive bird: large specimens are thought to reach a height of 152 cm and a weight of 9 kg. A wingspan of 3.7 m was accepted by Fisher and Peterson, who ranked the species as having the largest wing-spread of any living bird.

Even higher measurements of up to 4.06 m have been reported, although no measurement over 3.20 m has been verified. It is often credited with the largest spread of any landbird, to rival the Andean condor; more typically, however, these storks measure 225–287 cm across the wings, which is about a foot less than the average Andean condor wingspan and nearly two feet less than the average of the largest albatrosses and pelicans.

The bill

Ethiopia - October 2019

One leg

Ethiopia - October 2019

We can compare the size of the Marabou Stork remains with my size 46 shoe

Ethiopia - October 2019

Typical weight is 4.5–8 kg, unusually as low as 4 kg, and length (from bill to tail) is 120 to 130 cm. Females are smaller than males. Bill length can range from 26.4 to 35 cm. Unlike most storks, the three Leptoptilos species fly with the neck retracted like a heron.

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 sac at its throat (crumenifer(us) means "carrier of a pouch for money"), a neck ruff, and black legs and wings. The sexes are alike, but the young bird is browner and has a smaller bill. Full maturity is not reached for up to four years.

Length:

152 cm

Wingspan:

225 - 287 cm

Weight:

5000 - 8900 g

Longevity:

Distinctive Feature

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Similar Species

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From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Listen to the Marabou Stork

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

Marabou Stork drinking water and the end we can hear the stork walking through water

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

Lake Ziway jetty - I sneak up on 3 Marabou Storks. Beginning of recording and we hear the first stork take off. Then in the end the second stork. And when I am really close we hear the third Marabou Stork taking off together with one African Sacred Ibis

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Amora Gedel Park in Awassa. Marabou stork change branch in the tree and sounds like a horse / cow when landing.

Egyptian Goose in the end of the recording

Behavior
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 is known to be quite ill-tempered.

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

A number of endoparasites have been identified in wild marabous including Cheilospirura, Echinura and Acuaria nematodes, Amoebotaenia sphenoides (Cestoda) and Dicrocoelium hospes (Trematoda).

High fliers

Ready to take off to the Kalahari Plains

Flying from Maun to the Kalahari Plains and I was up front with the Pilot. We were cruising at an altitude of 1500 meters and we were talking about the good 'ol times enjoying the views.

Suddenly the Pilot threw the aircraft to the left.
- What the
We were coming head on with a Marabou Stork and we had to turn to avoid a collision. I had not expected any birds on this altitude. And it is a huge bird so it would have damaged the plane if it would have hit us.

We survived the drama with the Marabou Stork

Feeding behavior
The Marabou Stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this livelihood, 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 eats mainly carrion, scraps and faeces but will opportunistically eat almost any animal matter it can swallow. It occasionally eats other birds including quelea nestlings, pigeons, doves, pelican and cormorant chicks, and even flamingos. During the breeding season, adults scale back on carrion and take mostly small, live prey since nestlings need this kind of food to survive.

Common prey at this time may consist of fish, frogs, insects, eggs, small mammals and reptiles such as crocodile hatchlings and eggs, and lizards and snakes. Though known to eat putrid and seemingly inedible foods, these storks may sometimes wash food in water to remove soil.

When feeding on carrion, marabou frequently follow vultures, which are better equipped with hooked bills for tearing through carrion meat and may wait for the vultures to cast aside a piece, steal a piece of meat directly from the vulture or wait until the vultures are done.

As with vultures, Marabou Storks perform an important natural function by cleaning areas via their ingestion of carrion and waste. Increasingly, marabous have become dependent on human garbage and hundreds of the huge birds can be found around African dumps or waiting for a hand out in urban areas.

Marabous eating human garbage have been seen to devour virtually anything that they can swallow, including shoes and pieces of metal. Marabous conditioned to eating from human sources have been known to lash out when refused food.

Reproduction behavior
The Marabou Stork breeds in colonies, starting during the dry season. The female lays two to three of eggs in a small nest made of sticks; eggs hatch after an incubation period of 30 days. Their young reach sexual maturity at 4 years of age. Lifespan is 41 years in captivity and 25 years in wild.

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 5 August 2011

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia