Description

Bird skull, Yellow-billed Stork, Mycteria ibis.

You will receive this exact Skull of the Yellow-billed Stork.

The Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) is a large, elegant wading bird found in wetlands across sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania. It’s a common sight in shallow lakes, riverbanks, swamps, and floodplains.

🐦 Description

• Size: Around 90–105 cm (3–3.5 feet) tall with a wingspan of up to 1.5 meters.

• Color: Mostly white with black flight feathers and a bare red face.

• Bill: Long, thick, and bright yellow—slightly down-curved, ideal for probing water.

🌍 Habitat in Tanzania

• Found in areas like:

  • Lake Manyara

  • Selous Game Reserve

  • Ruaha and Katavi National Parks

  • Wetlands near Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika

• Prefers shallow freshwater habitats but also visits rice fields and estuaries.

🍽️ Feeding Behavior

• Feeds on fish, frogs, insects, and crustaceans.

• Uses a tactile hunting method: walks slowly with its bill in the water and snaps it shut when it touches prey.

• Sometimes seen foraging in groups or near hippos to catch disturbed fish.

🧬 Breeding

• Breeds in colonies, often alongside herons and spoonbills.

• Builds large stick nests in trees, usually near water.

• Both parents incubate 2–4 eggs and care for the chicks.

🛡️ Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern

• Locally common, though wetland destruction and pollution can threaten breeding areas.

• Bird Skull, Great White Pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus #2