Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Saddle-billed Stork, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, photo © by Michael Plagens

On a small pond at Maasai Mara, Kenya. Octobet 2016.

From Wikipedia:
This is a spectacularly plumaged stork; 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.

Ciconiiidae -- Stork Family

Books:

  • Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Zimmerman et al.
  • Birds of East Africa by Stevenson and Fanshawe

More Information:


Kenya Natural History

Copyright Michael J. Plagens, page created 29 June 2017