Family

Ciconiidae

Description

Adult females have yellow eyes, males black eyes. Young birds are brown during their first year. Adults are black and white with red legs.

Habits

Diurnal, Pairs often display to each other by quivering wings and clapping beaks. Live food is persued through the water and stabbed, chopped and pulverised with the huge beak before being swallowed.

Habitat

Wetland Coastal, Marshes; Mangroves; Estuaries; Beaches; Billabongs; Creeks and Rivers and flooded areas; Inland waters and fringing forests; floodplains. Paperbark forests, close to the adjacent floodplains, provide nesting sites for the Jabiru. Often hunts alone or in pairs but does congregate in large numbers on dry season swamps. Can be seen soaring very high on thermal currents. Will perch for hours on high rocks.

Notes

This bird is the only true Stork in Australia. It is also found right through Indonesia to Asia and India. Its common name in Australia is the Jabiru.@

Breeding

February to October, 2 to 4 eggs in a large stick nest high in a tree, often in a swamp. Both sexes incubate the eggs. Young fly after 100-115 days

Parks

Kakadu National Park

Diet

Carnivore, Fish crabs carrion; Eels; Water Snakes; Frogs; Small Reptiles; Small Mammals and Larger Insects.

Details

Common Name: Black-necked Stork, Jabiru Scientific Name: Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
Sub Order: Unavailable Order: Ciconiiformes
Class: Aves Category: Native
Status: Least Concern Size: 1.4 m high

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