Marabou Stork

The Marabou Stork is an enormous, unmistakable bird of sub-Saharan Africa, sometimes nicknamed the 'undertaker bird' for its dour expression, hunched posture, and habit of scavenging alongside vultures. It has a bald, blotchy pink or reddish head and neck, a massive wedge-shaped bill, and a pendulous pink air sac (gular pouch) hanging from the throat.

The body plumage is a mix of blackish-grey upperparts and white underparts, with the wings folded to create a cloak-like effect over a hunched frame. Despite its unglamorous appearance, the Marabou Stork is a highly successful and adaptable species, equally at home on the open savanna and in the middle of busy urban garbage dumps.

Key field marks

• Enormous size with a bald, mottled pink head and neck
• Massive, heavy, wedge-shaped bill
• Pink, pendulous throat pouch
• Blackish-grey back and wings, white underparts, hunched stance
• Soars on very broad wings with an exceptionally large wingspan

Similar species

Other large African storks such as the Saddle-billed Stork and Yellow-billed Stork have feathered heads and colorful bills, unlike the Marabou's bald head and dull bill. Vultures, with which Marabous often associate at carcasses, are smaller with hooked bills built for tearing flesh rather than the Marabou's massive dagger-like bill.

Marabou Storks occupy a wide range of open habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, including savanna, floodplains, lakeshores, and wetlands, but they are equally comfortable around human settlements, fishing villages, slaughterhouses, and open garbage dumps, where they scavenge food waste.

The species is largely resident, though individuals may wander considerable distances in search of food, particularly following the availability of carrion or refuse. It is one of the most widespread and adaptable large storks in Africa, ranging from Senegal and Sudan south to South Africa.

Marabou Storks are opportunistic scavengers, often seen alongside vultures at carcasses, using their powerful bills to tear off scraps or to steal food directly. They also actively hunt fish, frogs, insects, rodents, and even other birds, and readily forage at rubbish dumps and fishing docks.

They are typically silent apart from bill-clattering and occasional low grunts or croaks. Marabous nest colonially in tall trees, often alongside other large waterbirds, building large stick platforms. Both parents incubate the 2-3 eggs and feed the chicks. Their enormous wingspan, among the largest of any living bird, allows them to soar efficiently on thermals over long distances while searching for food.