Marabou Stork (Marabout d'Afrique)

      It is perhaps better that you have lunch before continuing with this account of what might be, by any reasonable standard, one of the ugliest birds in the world!

     I give you the Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus).

     It has been referred to by several authors as 'a gaunt-looking object at the best of times', 'the world's ugliest bird', 'entirely lacking any charm', 'stiff-jointed and dried up as though it had lived for a thousand years', or, 'a dirty old man with a skin disease of the scalp.'

     Ironically, it was when watching a couple of particularly loathsome politicians on television a few nights ago, that my thoughts turned to my encounters with this species in Ethiopia in 2014.

     The pair above might be deemed salutary by the standards of the current batch of political ne'er-do-wells, male and female alike.

     Unlike politicians, however, they are not usually first at the trough, and often wait for other scavengers to do the tough work of tearing into a carcass, daintily gathering whatever morsels they can glean. 

     They may often be found foraging with African Sacred Ibis (Threkiornis aethiopicus), and can pick off insects in the most delicate fashion, despite their huge bill.

       This female is perhaps searching for whole vertebrate food to feed her nestlings. Studies have shown that only in this manner can the developing young get enough calcium to successfully reach adulthood. 

     Adults also regurgitate water for their young to ward off dehydration.

     As you may gather, they are dedicated parents.

     When I saw Marabous, they were often in association with Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus).

     Both species, as well as Sacred Ibis and Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) showed no hesitation to congregate with people wherever the opportunity for food scraps presented itself.

Hamerkop

     The people cleaning the fish appeared totally indifferent to the hundreds of birds milling around them, squabbling over the food scraps tossed their way. They have probably gathered together in this manner for hundreds of years.

     Some females foraged at the water's edge, doubtless seeking whole fish to feed to their young. A sudden snap of the bill announced success.

     However ungainly Marabous may appear on the ground, they have complete mastery of the air, soaring effortlessly on the thermals generated by the convection currents rising from the hot African soil

     Marabou Storks both construct their nests, and roost high in trees, sometimes in sizable colonies.

     It is not the prettiest bird in the world, and is never going to initiate the ooh and ah reaction that songbirds do, but give a kind thought to them anyway.

     Like all of us they are just trying to maintain a home and raise the kids. Surely that merits our admiration - or at the very least our understanding and sympathy. Long live the Maribou Stork!

Hamerkop

Hamerkop Scopus umbretta

Ethiopia

12 January 2014

    Unique among birds, Hamerkop is placed in its own monotypic family. I had seen this species before going to Ethiopia, but only in flight, and I was anxious to get better looks at it. That proved to be very easy, for the bird was commonly found at many locations on our journey through Ethiopia.

    I saw one pair engaged in the construction of the giant nest for which the species is renowned and which is often shared with birds of prey.

    Hamerkop has been the stuff of legend, often being considered magical or even sinister, but there is little evidence of persecution.

    It certainly is a very interesting species to observe.

Hamerkop Nest