Species profile
About the saddle-billed stork
The saddle-billed stork stands up to 1.5 metres tall and is one of the most spectacular birds on any Tanzanian floodplain: glossy black and white, with long red legs marked by pink knees and a massive red bill crossed by a black band and crowned with a yellow frontal shield.
It is easily sexed in the field — females have a golden-yellow eye, males a dark eye with small yellow wattles. Pairs hold large territories and are almost always seen together, striding through shallow water in Mikumi's Mkata floodplain or along the Rufiji.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Wades slowly and stabs prey with a powerful bill, then washes it before swallowing. Soars with the neck outstretched and legs trailing.
Social life
Monogamous pairs holding a very large territory for life; unlike most storks it nests solitarily rather than in colonies.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
The yellow "saddle" shield at the base of the bill, and eye colour that separates male from female in the field.
