Wildlife: Birds -
Saddle-billed stork
Amphibians |
Birds |
Mammals |
Reptiles
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Wildlife
Ephippiorhynchus Senegalensis, Saddle-billed Stork,
Saalbekooievaar.
 Family
Cociniidae
This family consists out of large to very large long-legged and long-necked
birds with straight, stout bills. Storks walk with stately gait and frequently
rest on the ground with lower part of their legs stretched forward. Food ranges
from large insects, reptiles, frogs and other waterlife. The beste are large
stick structures placed in trees or on rocks. cliffs or the ground.
Description
The saddle-billed stork is a very beautiful bird. However it is
relatively uncommon in the Kruger National Park. It is a large,
strikingly coloured stork unlikely to be confused with any other
stork either at rest or in flight. An immature specimen has grey
instead of black markings while the white areas are marked with
black or dark-grey. This bird can be spotted alone or in pairs
in shallow waters of large rivers, dams, floodplains and
marshes. The saddle-billed stork will reach a hight of
apprixomately 145 centimetres.
Please feel free to have a look at the various pictures taken of
the saddle-billed stork in the Kruger National Park currently
featured in the gallery of Kruger Safari.
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