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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Abdim's
stork, white-bellied stork |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Ciconiiformes
[herons, bitterns, hammerkops, storks, ibises, spoonbills,
flamingos] |
| FAMILY: |
Ciconiidae
[storks - 19 species] |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Ciconia
(stork) abdimii (past governor of Northern
Sudan) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Medium-sized stork with glossy, black body except
for white chest. Additionally, slight white streak
extends along the upper edge of the wing. Legs are
a dull gray to dull red. Face is bare and primarily
blue with red patches of bare skin in front of the
eye and on the throat. The feet and ankles tend
to be pink or red in color. |
|
| SIZE: |
Height = approximately 80 cm (36.36 in) |
| Wing
length = 40-47.5 cm (15.75-18.70 in.) |
| Bill
length = 10.3-12.7 cm (4.05-5.00 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately
1.3 kg (2.86 lbs.) |
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| DIET: |
Highly
carnivorous birds; will feed on small mammals, birds,
reptiles, fish, insects, and even carrion |
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| INCUBATION: |
30-33
days; most storks nest colonially and most pair-bonds
only last for a single breeding season |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
2-5
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
60-65 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
4-5
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 20 years |
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| RANGE: |
Sub-Saharan
Africa; noticeably absent along the coastal areas
of tropical West Africa |
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| HABITAT: |
Primarily
wading birds found around shallow water; can be
found in grasslands, ponds, and swamps; these birds
often roost in trees or rock cliffs |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Exact
population counts are unknown, but these highly
gregarious birds have been seen in flocks numbering
in the hundreds |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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|
| 1. |
This
bird breeds north of the equator, but spends the
rest of the year in eastern and southern parts of
Africa. |
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| 2. |
Storks often defecate on their own legs in order
to maintain their body temperature through the process
of evaporative cooling. |
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| 3. |
Storks have little or no webbing between the toes
and their tibia is bare of feathers. |
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| 4. |
This
bird is rarely seen in groups of less than ten birds.
They are sometimes spotted in huge flocks of up
to 10,000 individuals. |
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| 5. |
Abdim's
storks are often seen in and around large swarms
of locusts, gorging on the insects. |
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As
with many storks and vultures, Abdim's storks
are known to feed on carrion. They also break
through thick hides of large, deceased mammals
with their powerful beak. This helps to speed
up the decomposition process and allows weaker
scavengers to gain access to the carcass. In addition,
they are important predators, frequently seen
standing on termite mounds ingesting swarming
insects. In turn, these birds may become prey
for large carnivores.
Abdim's
storks have little fear of humans and are not
usually in danger from hunting because of a local
superstition that they are "bringers of rain."
Other local traditions include building nests
for the birds on rooftops hoping the storks will
bring good luck.
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|
| Gotch,
A.F. Birds - Their Latin Names Explained.
Poole, Dorst: Blandford Press, 1981. |
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|
Perrins, Dr. Christopher. Birds: Their Life ,
Their Ways, Their World. New York: The Reader's
Digest Association Inc., 1979. |
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|
Perrins, Dr. Christopher M. and Dr. Alex L.A.
Middleton, eds. The Encyclopedia of Birds.
New York: Facts on File Pub., 1985.
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|
| Perrins,
Dr. Christopher M. The Illustrated Encyclopedia
of Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of the
World. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990. |
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| www.earthlife.net\birds\ciconiiformes\html |
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| www.betasudan.com/birds_of_country_sides.htm |
|
| www.cites.org/eng/append/I
and II_0700.shtml |
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