Marabou Stork ( Leptoptilos crumeniferus, family: Ciconiidae)
The Marabou Stork (Latin name Leptoptilos crumeniferus) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 89 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 626 also a picture of the Marabou Stork on page 593. The Marabou
Stork belongs to the family of birds classified as Ciconiidae. According
to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Marabou
Stork is also known by these other names: African Marabou. Click to
enlarge.
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 Marabou Stork is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger
National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the Marabou Stork in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Marabou Stork : see above distribution map.
The Marabou Stork.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The height of the Marabou Stork is about 1500 cms and its weight is about 7000 gms
The male and female Marabou Stork have the same plumage and colours
- Head is red.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is pink.
- Throat is pink.
- Back is black, blue.
- Legs are black.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
Reptiles
Other Birds
General scavenger habits
Smaller animals
Aquatic life forms
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Marabou Stork is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Leptoptilos crumeniferus will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Marabou 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 1 to 4
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Marabou Stork are: woodlands
You can see Marabou Stork in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Maraboe
German ... Marabu
Portuguese ... Marabu
French ... Marabout d'Afrique
Dutch ... Afrikaanse Maraboe
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 89
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
