Marabou Stork

The marabou stork is a large wading bird in the stork family, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation. It is sometimes called the undertaker bird because of its cloak-like wings and back, skinny white legs and sometimes a large white mass of hair. Wingspans typically measure 225–287 cm. The naked head and long neck suit a scavenging life, as with the vultures it often feeds alongside, since a feathered head would become clotted with blood. It eats mainly carrion, scraps and faeces, but will take almost any animal matter it can swallow. It breeds in colonies in the dry season, laying two to three eggs in a small stick nest.

About the marabou stork

The marabou stork is a huge, bald-headed stork of sub-Saharan Africa that lives largely by scavenging carrion and human refuse. It belongs to the stork family, Ciconiidae, and shares its genus with the lesser and greater adjutants. It thrives in wet and dry open country and around towns and rubbish dumps.

Its scientific name is Leptoptilos crumenifer, an epithet meaning "carrying a purse around the neck," a nod to its throat pouch. The common name marabou is thought to come from an Arabic word for a quiet or hermit-like person. Seen from behind, with cloak-like dark wings, skinny white legs and sometimes a puff of white feathers, it has earned the nickname "undertaker bird."

This is a massive bird. Large individuals may stand about 152 cm (5 ft) tall and weigh up to 9 kg (20 lb), though typical weights are 4.5–8 kg (10–17.5 lb). Length from bill tip to tail is 120–130 cm (47–51 in), and the bill alone measures 26.4–35 cm (10.5–14 in). Females are smaller than males.

Bare head and throat pouch

The marabou is hard to mistake: a bare head and neck, black back and wings, white underparts, white legs and an enormous bill. A long pink sac hangs from the throat, and there is a ruff at the base of the neck. Its soft white tail feathers are the "marabou" down that has long been used to trim clothing and hats.

The bare head is a practical adaptation. A feathered head would quickly become clotted with blood when the bird reached into a carcass, while bare skin is easier to keep clean, the same reason many vultures are bald. Males and females look alike, and young birds are browner with smaller bills. Full adult maturity can take up to four years.

One of the biggest wingspans

The marabou has often been credited with the largest wingspan of any land bird, with an average of about 2.6 m (8.5 ft). Claims of 3.7 m (12 ft) and even 4.06 m (13.3 ft) have been made, but no measurement over 3.2 m (10.5 ft) has been verified. More typical birds span 225–287 cm (7–9 ft), about a foot less than the average Andean condor. Unlike most storks, marabous fly with the neck pulled back, like a heron.

Behavior and diet

Marabous are sociable birds that gather in groups, often near lakes and rivers, and they breed in colonies. Like most storks they are not very vocal. Courting birds rattle their bills and use the throat pouch to grunt, croak and make other sounds. The species has a reputation for being quite ill-tempered.

A scavenger's diet

The marabou eats mainly carrion, scraps and even feces, but it will take almost any animal it can swallow. It often feeds alongside vultures, which have hooked bills better suited to tearing meat. The stork waits for scraps, snatches meat straight from a vulture or moves in after the vultures have finished. In doing so it helps clean up carcasses and waste.

Live prey becomes more important in the breeding season, because nestlings need it. Adults then take fish, frogs, insects, eggs, small mammals and reptiles, including crocodile hatchlings and eggs, lizards and snakes. They also eat birds, from Quelea nestlings, pigeons and doves to pelican and cormorant chicks and even flamingos. Despite eating putrid food, marabous sometimes wash their food in water to remove soil.

Living with people

Marabous have adapted well to living alongside people. Hundreds can gather around African rubbish dumps or wait for handouts in towns, and garbage-eating birds have been seen swallowing shoes and pieces of metal. Birds used to being fed by people have lashed out when refused food. In East Africa the storks even breed in urban areas, while in southern Africa they nest mainly in less populated places.

Breeding

Breeding starts in the dry season, when shrinking pools make fish and frogs easier to catch for the chicks. Pairs often mate for life. The nest is a small platform of sticks in a tree, holding two or three eggs that hatch after about 30 days. Young marabous reach breeding age at about four years.

Range and habitat

The marabou stork lives across Africa south of the Sahara. It uses both wet and arid habitats, including savanna, grassland and dry open country, and it is frequently found near human settlements, fishing villages and especially landfill sites. In parts of East Africa it nests in towns and cities.

Fully grown marabous have few natural enemies and a high yearly survival rate, although lions have reportedly ambushed some. The species is monotypic, meaning no subspecies are recognized. It was first described in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson, from Senegal.

For other members of the stork family, see the saddle-billed stork and the white stork.

Conservation status

The marabou stork is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, most recently assessed by BirdLife International in 2025. It has no special status under U.S. federal law or CITES.

Because the marabou adapts so well to human activity, feeding at dumps and nesting in towns, its population may actually be increasing. Its scavenging habits help reduce the spread of disease by clearing carcasses. Wild marabous do carry a number of internal parasites, including several kinds of nematode worms, a tapeworm and a fluke.