Marabou Stork - Leptoptilos crumeniferus
Pictured at a lion kill waiting to get at the scraps even the vultures throw away ! This bird has the biggest wing span of any living bird at 12-13 feet !! Bigger than an Andean Condor which was the bird I thought had the record. That's massive. Individuals can stand a full metre and a half tall. I have many shots of these birds and they just don't get any more attractive.
I was looking for some information on these birds and I have to say the more I read the less I liked them. They are scavengers in the main and you can see the bare head and shoulders designed to allow the bird to pop itself inside a putrid carcass without befouling its plumage. Apparently on African rubbish dumps they will even eat discarded shoes and ... wait for it... have been known to kill children who are I guess foraging themselves for scraps that they want.
In the breeding season the bird starts to take more live prey such as frogs and lizards to feed is chicks - I guess bits of leather, bone, metal (!) and rotten flesh are not so good for the youngsters.
So its a stork that decided the vultures had a better gig and set out to muscle in on the game.
Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus
Tanzania, Northern Serengeti, Olakira Camp
July 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment