6-6-2019 MOREMI CAMP, BOTSWANA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

turalist.org/taxa/4754-Ephippiorhynchus-senegalensis

3-11-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4754-Ephippiorhynchus-senegalensis

29-3-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4754-Ephippiorhynchus-senegalensis

 

9-9-2020 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle-billed_stork

12-2-2020 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

6-6-2019 KHWAI CAMP, BOTSWANA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) PHOTO COURTESY OF MRS VALERIE FISHER

23-10-2019 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

22-5-2019 MANA POOLS, ZIMBABWE - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) PHOTO COURTESY OF MRS VALERIE FISHER

16-1-2019 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

22-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The Saddle-billed Stork, known scientifically as Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, is a magnificent and large wading bird belonging to the stork family, Ciconiidae. It stands tall, reaching heights of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), with a wingspan stretching an impressive 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in). The male of the species is typically larger and heavier than the female, with weights ranging from 5.1 to 7.52 kg (11.2 to 16.6 lb).

Distinguishing between the sexes is straightforward; the female boasts golden yellow irises, while the male has brown irises complemented by dangling yellow wattles. Both sexes share a striking plumage, with iridescent black covering the head, neck, back, wings, and tail, and the rest of the body along with primary flight feathers being white. The juvenile birds wear a more subdued brownish-grey attire. The stork's bill is a vivid red adorned with a black band and a distinctive yellow frontal shield, the namesake "saddle." Their legs and feet are black with pink hocks, and a bare red patch of skin can be found on the chest, which intensifies in color during the breeding season.

20-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

22-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The Saddle-billed Stork, known scientifically as Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, is a magnificent and large wading bird belonging to the stork family, Ciconiidae. It stands tall, reaching heights of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), with a wingspan stretching an impressive 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in). The male of the species is typically larger and heavier than the female, with weights ranging from 5.1 to 7.52 kg (11.2 to 16.6 lb).

Distinguishing between the sexes is straightforward; the female boasts golden yellow irises, while the male has brown irises complemented by dangling yellow wattles. Both sexes share a striking plumage, with iridescent black covering the head, neck, back, wings, and tail, and the rest of the body along with primary flight feathers being white. The juvenile birds wear a more subdued brownish-grey attire. The stork's bill is a vivid red adorned with a black band and a distinctive yellow frontal shield, the namesake "saddle." Their legs and feet are black with pink hocks, and a bare red patch of skin can be found on the chest, which intensifies in color during the breeding season.

Saddle-billed Storks have a preference for protected areas abundant in open water, such as national parks and protected swamps, which provide safer environments for both the birds and ornithologists.

This species is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa, with its range extending from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in the east, down to South Africa, and also found in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and Chad in West Africa.

In flight, the Saddle-billed Stork is a sight to behold, with its neck outstretched and its large bill drooping below the belly. They are generally silent, save for the bill-clattering sounds made at their nests. The species is known for its solitary nesting habits and lifelong pair bonds, often seen in pairs even outside the breeding season.

The Saddle-billed Stork builds large, deep stick nests in trees, where it lays one to five white eggs, with incubation lasting 30–35 days. After hatching, the chicks fledge in another 70–100 days, often staying within the parents' territory until the next breeding season.

These storks are adept hunters, stabbing their bills into water, mud, and vegetation to catch a variety of prey. They primarily feed on aquatic creatures like lungfish and catfish, which can weigh up to 1.3 kg (2.9 lb). They also consume frogs, snails, small mammals, birds, snakes, and various insects.

The Saddle-billed Stork is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, although it is considered endangered in South Africa.

The Saddle-billed Stork is closely related to the Black-necked Stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus, which is widespread across Asia and Australia.

26-11-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

28-11-2016 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.

It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.

This is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), a length of 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) and a 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in) wingspan. While heights published have been in the aforementioned narrow range, reportedly adult saddle-billed storks in captivity can attain a height of up to 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The male of the species is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 5.1–7.52 kg (11.2–16.6 lb), with a mean mass of 6.38 kg (14.1 lb). The female is usually between 5 and 6.84 kg (11.0 and 15.1 lb), with a mean mass of 5.95 kg (13.1 lb). Among the large storks, the saddle-billed broadly overlap in size with the two larger Leptoptilos and the Jabiru stork but possesses a longer, more slender neck and slightly longer legs than the other largest storks, so the saddle-billed is likely to be the tallest extant species of the family. Its extremely long legs measure up to 36.5 cm (14.4 in)) in tarsus length. The long bill measures from 27.3 to 36 cm (10.7 to 14.2 in). The sexes can be readily distinguished by the golden yellow irises of the female and the brown irises and dangling yellow wattles of the male. It is therefore one of the few storks to display sexual dimorphism in colour.

13-9-2017 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.

It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.

The saddle-billed stork, like most of its relatives, feeds mainly on fish, frogs and crabs, but also on large water beetles, small mammals, birds and reptiles. The birds move in a deliberate and stately manner as they hunt, in a similar way to the larger herons.

This is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), a length of 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) and a 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in) wingspan. While heights published have been in the aforementioned narrow range, reportedly adult saddle-billed storks in captivity can attain a height of up to 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The male of the species is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 5.1–7.52 kg (11.2–16.6 lb), with a mean mass of 6.38 kg (14.1 lb). The female is usually between 5 and 6.84 kg (11.0 and 15.1 lb), with a mean mass of 5.95 kg (13.1 lb). Among the large storks, the saddle-billed broadly overlap in size with the two larger Leptoptilos and the Jabiru stork but possesses a longer, more slender neck and slightly longer legs than the other largest storks, so the saddle-billed is likely to be the tallest extant species of the family. Its extremely long legs measure up to 36.5 cm (14.4 in)) in tarsus length. The long bill measures from 27.3 to 36 cm (10.7 to 14.2 in). The sexes can be readily distinguished by the golden yellow irises of the female and the brown irises and dangling yellow wattles of the male. It is therefore one of the few storks to display sexual dimorphism in colour.

It is spectacularly plumaged; both the female and male appear identical when perched but the female shows much more white in the primaries in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white. Juveniles are browner grey in plumage. The massive bill is red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"). The legs and feet are black with pink hocks. On the chest is a bare red patch of skin, whose colour darkens during breeding season.

At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. Some of these trends may, however, be due to a bias in coverage by ornithologists of safer areas such as national parks and protected swamps that afford easier accessibility and comforts.

They are silent except for bill-clattering at the nest. Like most storks, these fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron; in flight, the large heavy bill is kept drooping somewhat below belly height, giving these birds a very unusual appearance to those who see them for the first time. To experienced birdwatchers on the other hand, this makes them easily recognizable even if seen from a distance. It has been suggested that due to the large size and unusual appearance in flight, this species is the basis for the "big bird" and kongamato cryptids.

The saddle-billed stork breeds in forested waterlands and other floodlands in tropical lowland. It builds a large, deep stick nest in a tree, laying one to five (typically two or three) white eggs weighing about 146 g (5.1 oz) each. It does not form breeding colonies, and is usually found alone or in pairs. The incubation period is 30–35 days, with another 70–100 days before the chicks fledge, with the young often remaining in the parents' territory until the next breeding season.

14-10-2015 VALENCIA BIOPARC - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.

It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.

This is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), a length of 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) and a 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in) wingspan. While heights published have been in the aforementioned narrow range, reportedly adult saddle-billed storks in captivity can attain a height of up to 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The male of the species is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 5.1–7.52 kg (11.2–16.6 lb), with a mean mass of 6.38 kg (14.1 lb). The female is usually between 5 and 6.84 kg (11.0 and 15.1 lb), with a mean mass of 5.95 kg (13.1 lb). Among the large storks, the saddle-billed broadly overlap in size with the two larger Leptoptilos and the Jabiru stork but possesses a longer, more slender neck and slightly longer legs than the other largest storks, so the saddle-billed is likely to be the tallest extant species of the family. Its extremely long legs measure up to 36.5 cm (14.4 in)) in tarsus length. The long bill measures from 27.3 to 36 cm (10.7 to 14.2 in). The sexes can be readily distinguished by the golden yellow irises of the female and the brown irises and dangling yellow wattles of the male. It is therefore one of the few storks to display sexual dimorphism in colour.

It is spectacularly plumaged; both the female and male appear identical when perched but the female shows much more white in the primaries in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white. Juveniles are browner grey in plumage. The massive bill is red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"). The legs and feet are black with pink hocks. On the chest is a bare red patch of skin, whose colour darkens during breeding season.

At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. Some of these trends may, however, be due to a bias in coverage by ornithologists of safer areas such as national parks and protected swamps that afford easier accessibility and comforts.

The saddle-billed stork, like most of its relatives, feeds mainly on fish, frogs and crabs, but also on large water beetles, small mammals, birds and reptiles. The birds move in a deliberate and stately manner as they hunt, in a similar way to the larger herons.

28-11-2016 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.

It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.

This is a huge bird that regularly attains a height of 145 to 150 cm (4 ft 9 in to 4 ft 11 in), a length of 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) and a 2.4 to 2.7 m (7 ft 10 in to 8 ft 10 in) wingspan. While heights published have been in the aforementioned narrow range, reportedly adult saddle-billed storks in captivity can attain a height of up to 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). The male of the species is larger and heavier than the female, with a range of 5.1–7.52 kg (11.2–16.6 lb), with a mean mass of 6.38 kg (14.1 lb). The female is usually between 5 and 6.84 kg (11.0 and 15.1 lb), with a mean mass of 5.95 kg (13.1 lb). Among the large storks, the saddle-billed broadly overlap in size with the two larger Leptoptilos and the Jabiru stork but possesses a longer, more slender neck and slightly longer legs than the other largest storks, so the saddle-billed is likely to be the tallest extant species of the family. Its extremely long legs measure up to 36.5 cm (14.4 in)) in tarsus length. The long bill measures from 27.3 to 36 cm (10.7 to 14.2 in). The sexes can be readily distinguished by the golden yellow irises of the female and the brown irises and dangling yellow wattles of the male. It is therefore one of the few storks to display sexual dimorphism in colour.

It is spectacularly plumaged; both the female and male appear identical when perched but the female shows much more white in the primaries in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white. Juveniles are browner grey in plumage. The massive bill is red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"). The legs and feet are black with pink hocks. On the chest is a bare red patch of skin, whose colour darkens during breeding season.

At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. Some of these trends may, however, be due to a bias in coverage by ornithologists of safer areas such as national parks and protected swamps that afford easier accessibility and comforts.

They are silent except for bill-clattering at the nest. Like most storks, these fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron; in flight, the large heavy bill is kept drooping somewhat below belly height, giving these birds a very unusual appearance to those who see them for the first time. To experienced birdwatchers on the other hand, this makes them easily recognizable even if seen from a distance. It has been suggested that due to the large size and unusual appearance in flight, this species is the basis for the "big bird" and kongamato cryptids.

19-3-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SADDLE BILLED STORK (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa. It is considered endangered in South Africa.

It is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.

It is spectacularly plumaged; both the female and male appear identical when perched but the female shows much more white in the primaries in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white. Juveniles are browner grey in plumage. The massive bill is red with a black band and a yellow frontal shield (the "saddle"). The legs and feet are black with pink hocks. On the chest is a bare red patch of skin, whose colour darkens during breeding season.

They are silent except for bill-clattering at the nest. Like most storks, they fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron; in flight, the large heavy bill is kept drooping somewhat below belly height, giving these birds a distinctive appearance. This makes them easily recognizable, even if seen from a distance. It has been suggested that due to the large size and unusual appearance in flight, this species is the basis for the "big bird" and kongamato cryptids.

At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without other storks. Some of these trends may, however, be due to a bias in coverage by ornithologists of safer areas such as national parks and protected swamps that afford easier accessibility and comforts.