SPECIES PROFILE
THE crowd scenes at waterholes in African wildlife documentaries often feature a group of marabou storks (Leptoptilus crumenifer): huge, bald-headed, long-legged, upright birds with formidable beaks. Their great pink pendulous gular pouch is used to dissipate heat. It resembles either a deflated balloon or, when filled with air, a water bag, and is prominent even on a naked nestling. Marabous’ legs look as though they’re streaked with white chalk, due to their habit of defecating on them to keep cool. Apart from a few wispy feathers on the head, the skull and face (often blue-blotched as though it is bruised) are, like the neck, devoid of plumage.
This species is never chosen for a tropical bird calendar, but is nevertheless impressive. Possessing a 9ft wingspan, it is the largest of storks. (The renowned African ornithologist Richard Meinertzhagen claimed a record
