Marabou Stork

scientific name

Leptoptilos crumeniferus

size/weight/height

Height: male 5' • female slightly smaller
Weight: male 15 - 20 lbs. • female slightly smaller
Wingspan: male 8.5'
largest stork

adaptations/coloration

Color: head pink-red & bare • feathers black • neck white ruff • lower body white • back mantle & upper wing slate gray with green gloss • tail & wings black with green gloss • bill mottled black with pink tint • eyes brown • air sacs red
Flight: not good short distance • soars to great height on thermals • neck tucked in (unlike other storks) • legs projected
Foreneck: lower part has distensible fleshy pouch
Immature: woolly covering on head
Plumage: blackness appears 3 yrs • adult by 4 yrs

behavior

Call: usually silent away from nest
Defense: bill-clacking if threatened
Flock: size varies
Forage: share carcasses with vultures • shake loose large chunks & eat whole • adult can swallow 2 lb. chunk
Movement: when not feeding - standing, squatting, pacing, or wings extend to catch sun & warn off intruders
Personality: gregarious • gather at river sandbanks to bathe & rest

reproduction/lifespan

Lifespan: 25+ years maximum established
Breed: large colony 100+ pairs • same site (tree & cliff) used annually
Courtship: by male • bill clacks, loud hollow sounds, wings spread, neck arches, & sways back & forth
Eggs: 1-4 • laid 1-3 day intervals
Incubation: 30 days • both parents
Nest: male gathers sticks • female builds - takes 7 - 10 days • 3' wide • 33-100' above ground • intruder warning = grunts, squeaks, whistles
Parenting: both parents • 1 remains nearby • food regurgitated by parent into nest
Young: left alone at 10 days • young rely on parents for food 130 days
Sexual Maturity: unknown

diet

Wild: amphibians, aquatic organisms, beetles, carrion, crustaceans, fish, flamingoes, termites & young shore birds
Zoo: Bird of Prey Diet, chicks, fish & mice

habitat/range

near water • fishing villages & garbage dumps • Equatorial Africa - rare south of Botswana or north of Senegal & Somalia

status

population probably increasing due to association with humans & garbage dump scavenging

oregon zoo exhibit