Marabou stork
Marabou stork | |
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Uganda | |
Ethiopia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Ciconiiformes |
Family: | Ciconiidae |
Genus: | Leptoptilos |
Species: | L. crumenifer
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Binomial name | |
Leptoptilos crumenifer (
Lesson, RP , 1831) | |
Synonyms | |
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The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large wading
Taxonomy
The marabou stork was
The common name marabou is thought to be derived from the Arabic word murābit meaning quiet or hermit-like.[5] The species was originally described as Ciconia crumenifera. When the species was moved into the genus Leptoptilos, the ending was modified to crumeniferus and this was used by many authors until it was noted that the correct masculine ending to match the genus is crumenifer.[6]
Description
The marabou stork is a massive bird: large specimens are thought to reach a height of 152 centimetres (4.99 feet) and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb).[7][8] A wingspan of 3.7 m (12 ft) 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 (13.3 ft) have been reported, although no measurement over 3.20 m (10.5 ft) has been verified.[citation needed] 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 (7–9 ft) 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. Typical weight is 4.5–8 kg (9.9–17.6 lb), unusually as low as 4 kg (8.8 lb), and length (from bill to tail) is 120 to 130 cm (47 to 51 in). Females are smaller than males. Bill length can range from 26.4 to 35 cm (10.4 to 13.8 in).[9][10][11] 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
Behavior and ecology
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.
Breeding
The marabou stork breeds in Africa south of the Sahara. In East Africa, the birds interact with humans and breed in urban areas. In southern African countries, the birds breed mainly in less populated areas.[12] The marabou stork breeds in colonies, starting during the dry season. The female lays two to three 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 43 years in captivity and 25 years in wild.[13]
Feeding
The marabou stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and long 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.[citation needed]
This large and powerful bird eats mainly
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.[9] 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.[9]
Threats
Fully grown marabou storks have few natural enemies, and have high annual survival rate,[16] though lions have reportedly preyed on some individuals in ambush.[17] A number of
Human uses
Marabou down is frequently used in the trimming of various items of clothing and hats, as well as
Gallery
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Mikumi National Park, Tanzania
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Large marabou stork,British East Africa
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Skeleton of a marabou stork
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Skull cast from a Leptoptilos crumenifer displays its long beak
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spreading wings, Uganda
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spreading wings, Ethiopia
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feeding on elephant carcass
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Bancroft, Thomas (20 March 2020). "The Undertaker Bird – Enchanted by the Wild".
- ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Storks, frigatebirds, boobies, darters, cormorants". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ Yule, Henry (1903). Hobson-Jobson. A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive (2nd ed.). London: John Murray. p. 7.
- ^ David, N.; Gosselin, M. (2011). "Gender agreement of avian species-group names under Art. 31.2.2 of the ICZN Code". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 131 (2): 103–115 [105–106].
- ISBN 978-0-8160-5904-1. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-0856610790
- ^ ISBN 978-0-12-322730-0
- ISBN 978-1-4027-5623-8
- ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
- Wikidata Q115612348.
- ^ Muckley, A. "Leptoptilos crumeniferus". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ "Marabou stork photo – Leptoptilos crumeniferus – G62878 | Arkive". Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- .
- ^ Kahl M. (2009) ‘ A Contribution to the Ecology and Reproductive Biology of the Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos Crumeniferus) in East Africa’, Journal of Zoology, 148: 289–311.
- ^ Tumenta, P. N. et al. 2013. Lion predation on livestock and native wildlife in Waza National Park, northern Cameroon.– Mammalia 77: 247–251.
- .
- ^ The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2008 (Oxford University Press, 2008)
- ISBN 9781586856922.
External links
- Media related to Leptoptilos crumenifer at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Leptoptilos crumenifer at Wikispecies
- Marabou Stork – The Atlas of Southern African Birds