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Maribou stork
Leptoptilos crumeniferus
-30.5595, 22.9375
Field Notes
Description:
This bird is thought to reach a height of 152 cm (60 in) and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb). 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, and even higher measurements of up to 4.06 m (13.3 ft) have been reported.
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." It eats mainly carrion, scraps and faeces, but will also take fish, frogs, insects, eggs, small mammals and reptiles such as crocodile hatchlings and eggs. It occasionally eats other birds including quelea nestlings, pigeons, doves, pelican and cormorant chicks, and even flamingos. Like vultures, it has a naked head and neck, which is easier to keep clean after sticking its head in the bodies of dead animals.
Marabous have also begun eating human garbage and have been known to lash out when refused food and have even killed children on a few occasions when harassed.
Habitat:
Africa, with breeding in sub-Saharan Africa; savannas, marshes and plains.
Notes:
The first photos were taken at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre not far from Kruger National Park in South Africa; the last photo was taken in February 2011 at Etosha National Park, Namibia.
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