Saddle-billed Stork

                

Saddle-billed  Stork - Żabiru afrykański

Africa, Botswana, 2012

Description

It is spectacularly plumaged, identical in male and female when perched but the female shows much more white in the primaries in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white. Juveniles are browner grey in plumage. The massive bill is red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"). The legs and feet are black with pink hocks. On the chest is a bare red patch of skin, whose color darkens during breeding season.

This is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 59 in, a length of 56 in and a 7.9–8.9 ft. wingspan. The male is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 11–17 lb. It is probably the tallest of the storks (though not the heaviest), due in no small part to it extremely long legs (tarsus length is up to 14.4 in)). The long bill measures from 10.7 to 14.2 in. The sexes can be readily distinguished by the golden yellow irises of the female and the brown irises and dangling yellow wattles of the male. When in flight, they extend their necks to full length, drooping their heads slightly under the weight of the bill. This gives them a rather unique appearance.

Habitat

It inhabits extensive fresh, brackish or alkaline wetlands in open, semi-arid areas and savanna, with relatively high abundances of fish and with large trees nearby for nesting and roosting (although it avoids deeply forested areas). Suitable habitats include shallow freshwater marshes, wet grasslands, the margins of large or small rivers, lake shores, pans and flood-plains.

Voice

They are silent except for bill-clattering at the nest.

Diet

The saddle-billed stork, like most of its relatives, feeds mainly on fish, frogs and crabs, but also on small birds and reptiles. They move in a deliberate and stately manner as they hunt, in a similar way to the larger herons.

Reproduction

These storks are most frequently found in pairs and are very territorial. They communicate by clattering their bill at the nest occasionally, but are otherwise rather quiet. The Saddle-billed Stork pairs for life, and will reuse their nest. The male and the female birds work together to construct their nest. They will choose the top boughs of a tree that is situated near to wetlands as the safest spot to hatch and rear their young. This is no mean feat as the nest has to be rather large, since it needs to accommodate the whole bird in a sitting position. The female stork lays between one and five eggs. The chicks are fed by both parents, and reach fledgling age at between 58 and 100 days old. Both members of the pair incubate the eggs for between 32 and 35 days. The longest lifespan of a Saddle-billed Stork in captivity is just over 30 years.
Photos by others.

commons.wikimedia

Dean J. Tatooles

JOS WANTEN

Credits

SA-Venues.com , Wikipedia, 

Bateleur

Bateleur - Kuglarz

Africa, Botswana, Okavango Delta, 2012

Description

The Bateleur is a colorful species with a very short tail which, together with its white under wing coverts, makes it unmistakable in flight. The tail is so small the bird's legs protrude slightly beyond the tail during flight. The Bateleur is sexually dimorphic; both adults have black plumage, a chestnut mantle and tail, grey shoulders, tawny wing coverts, and red facial skin, bill and legs. The female additionally has tawny secondary wing feathers. Immature birds are brown with white dappling and have greenish facial skin. It takes them seven or eight years to reach full maturity. The bird spends a considerable amount of time on the wing, particularly in low-altitude glides. Incredibly, the Bateleur may spend as much as 80 percent of the day in flight, covering up to 500 kilometers, as it searches for food. Flying relatively low, this species scans the ground for signs of food and, when sighted, it descends in a tight spiral to investigate. When not in flight, the Bateleur can be seen perching on branches or standing on the ground with its wings outstretched, absorbing the heat from the sun.

Habitat

The Bateleur has an extensive range, encompassing most of Africa, from Mauritania in the west, across to Sudan in the east, and stretching north to Egypt and south to South Africa. The Bateleur mainly occupies savanna and open- and closed-canopy woodland, favoring broad-leaved woodland with long grass. Rarely in heavily wooded areas, mountainous areas and largely treeless habitats, but penetrates semi-desert shrub land with tall drainage-line woodland.

Voice

The Bateleur is generally silent, but on occasions it produces a variety of barks and screams.
Sounds of Bateleur

Diet

Bateleurs are hunters and scavengers; birds such as pigeons and sangrouse are preferred prey items, although it may attack small mammals. Their diet includes antelope, mice, birds, snakes, and carrion. Bateleur eagles spend 8-9 hours each day in the air looking for food.

Reproduction

The Bateleur breeds in December–March. It constructs a well-concealed nest in trees, laying a single egg. Mother incubates the egg while father collects food and sticks for the nest. Sometimes, however, the father incubates. After an incubation period of 52-59 days, the chick hatches. 110 days later, the hatchling fledges, but will continue to receive food from its parents for another 100 days. Only 2% of chicks make it to adulthood. Bateleurs pair for life, and will use the same nest for a number of years. Unpaired birds, presumably from a previous clutch, will sometimes help at the nest.

Did you know?
The Mbuti tribe believes that if a pregnant woman or her husband eat this bird, a baby with an extraordinary large head may be born to them.

The Temba tribe of the Congo consider the species as a cure. Its feathers and claws are used to cure benign epilepsy. For the medical treatment, feathers and claws of this bird are burnt and inhaled by the patient. Only old people can eat it. Also this bird makes noise while flying, like the wind. It sometimes carries away two-to three-year-old infants of goat, monkey, or hare.

The Zulu in South Africa believe that when creation began, when the tree of life produced living things, the first bird to fall off the tree of life, was the Ingonghulu, the Bateleur. To signal the birth of creation, the Ingonghulu extended her wings and beat them, GHU-GHU-GHU, and creation was announced. You were not allowed to kill this bird. It enjoyed the direct protection of the king of the Zulus. You were not allowed to harm this bird of victory. If it arrived in your area, it was immediately announced to the king that an Ingonghulu is nesting in such and such a place, and the king used to come there with his people and conduct a sacred ceremony there, to which no ordinary people were invited.

Photos by others

 

Credits

Wikipedia, Plenetofbirds.com, Arkive.com, Birds of Brazil (Wildlife Conservation Society)