Marabou

Marabou, common name for the largest members of the stork family, found in Asia and in Africa. The Asian forms are usually known as adjutants. They differ chiefly in size. The widely distributed African form, known as the marabou stork, stands about 1.5 m (about 5 ft) tall, with a wingspread of up to 2.9 m (9.4 ft). It is grayish above and white below, with a white ruff at the bottom of a pink neck. The adults have a large, inflatable sack hanging from the base of the neck. They feed on virtually anything of animal origin, from insects to decaying elephant corpses. They soar in thermals (rising bodies of warm air) for long distances to find carcasses of game animals, which they eat, often in company with vultures and hyenas. Marabous breed in the dry season, when game is concentrated near water and when lake and river levels are low, making frogs and fish easy to catch.

Scientific classification: Marabous make up the genus Leptoptilos of the family Ciconiidae. The marabou stork is Leptoptilos crumeniferus.