Saddle-billed Stork ( Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, family: Ciconiidae)

Kruger Park Saddle Billed StorkThe Saddle-billed Stork (Latin name Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 88 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 625 also a picture of the Saddle-billed Stork on page 593. The Saddle-billed Stork belongs to the family of birds classified as Ciconiidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Saddle-billed Stork is also known by these other names: Saddlebill, African Jabiru.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Saddle-billed Stork is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Saddle-billed Stork in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Saddle-billed Stork : see above distribution map.

The Saddle-billed Stork.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

saddle billed stork kruger national park birds

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Saddle-billed Stork is a very large bird much much bigger than a Pied Crow. The height of the Saddle-billed Stork is about 150 cms and its weight is about 7000 gms

The male and female Saddle-billed Stork have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black, purple.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black, purple.
  • Back is .
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Saddle-billed Stork feeds on the ground mainly

Reptiles

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Saddle-billed Stork is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Saddle-billed Stork is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Saddle-billed Stork are: wetlands and riverine areas . The Saddle-billed Stork is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You can expect to see Saddle-billed Stork in flocks, or pairs or as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Saalbekooievaar

German ... Sattelstorch

Portuguese ... Jabiru

French ... Jabiru d'Afrique

Dutch ... Zadelbekooievaar

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 88

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za