Talk:Marabou stork

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The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large species of wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Breeding in sub-Saharan Africa, it eats mainly carrion, scraps and faeces, but will opportunistically eat almost any animal matter it can swallow. It occasionally eats other birds including Quelea nestlings, pigeons and doves, pelican and cormorant chicks, and even flamingos. During the breeding season, adults scale back on carrion and take mostly small, live prey since nestlings need this kind of food to survive. Common prey at this time may consist of fish, frogs, insects, eggs, small mammals and reptiles such as crocodile hatchlings and eggs. Though known to eat putrid and seemingly inedible foods, these storks may sometimes wash food in water to remove soil. Increasingly, marabous have become dependent on human garbage and hundreds of the birds can be found around African dumps or waiting for a handout in urban areas. Those eating garbage have been seen to devour virtually anything that they can swallow, including shoes and pieces of metal, and those conditioned to eating from human sources have been known to lash out when refused food. This marabou stork was photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) in flight 2.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for July 22, 2024. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2024-07-22. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you!  — Amakuru (talk) 09:50, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is a large bird, with individuals reaching a height of 152 centimetres (4.99 feet) and a weight of 9 kilograms (20 lb), and has the largest wingspan of any land bird, with an average of 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) and some recorded examples of up to 3.2 metres (10 ft). The marabou stork breeds in Africa south of the Sahara. In East Africa, the birds interact with humans and breed in urban areas. In southern African countries, the birds breed mainly in less populated areas. This marabou stork in flight was photographed in the town of Batu, by Lake Ziway, Ethiopia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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