Storks (Family Ciconiidae) - Bird of the Month: March 2013

[Toko]

My favourite pair They are back home on the nest on top of my favourite brewery (with pub)

[Lisbeth]

Black Stork



Later I'll try to add some information All I can say now is that the rain was pouring down -O

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but uncommon, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe (predominantly in central and eastern regions), across temperate Asia and Southern Africa. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in pairs or small flocks—in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. The Black Stork feeds on amphibians and insects.

[Toko]

The scientific name for the Black Stork is Ciconia nigra. Both the genus and the specific names are Latin; Ciconia is "stork" and nigra is "black. Another apt name

Kruger National Park

[nan]

Black Stork/Cigogne noire



Kruger National Park

[Toko]

Black Stork, a species which is not doing well in our region

The bulk of the world's Black Storks breed across central Eurasia, and migrate south, but stay north of the equator. So the population in southern Africa is an isolated breeding population. This species is like the European Bee-eater – a northern migrant, which has an isolated breeding sub-population in the south. There is also a handful of White Storks that breed in South Africa – this little population has never taken off in the way that the Black Storks must have done some hundreds or maybe even a few thousands of years ago.

Sadly, the range-change map comparing SABAP1 with SABAP2 tells the unhappy story of the southern African population of the Black Stork being in a sharp decline. This is evidenced by all the grid cells which RED (disappeared) and ORANGE (decreased) on the map. This is one of the largest shrinkages in range recorded by SABAP2. This is one of the case studies which supports the assertion that SABAP2 is the most important conservation initiative in the region – if it were not for SABAP2, the Black Stork might have disappeared entirely before we became aware of its decline. It was SABAP2 that alerted us to this issue. SABAP2 provides a broad-brush monitoring of all species across the entire region, the fundamental data upon which all conservation interventions are based, and against which they need to be prioritized. Information about ranges of species and how they are changing is one of the imperatives on the list of things we need to know in conservation management decisions.

In the 2000 Red Data Book for South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, the Black Stork was classified as "Near-threatened." Keith Barnes wrote the species text: "Its montane breeding habitat is not under threat. It is, however, dependent on shallow waterbodies such as estuaries and rivers where it forages for fish, amphibians and a range of aquatic invertebrates. Wetland conversion in the form of degradation of estuaries and highland marshes, the afforestation of catchments which reduces water inflow and the damming of smaller rivers are causes for concern. The species is susceptible to poisoning and is highly prone to disturbance; it tends to avoid contact with people." And then, unfortunately prophetically, he wrote: "The Black Stork may suffer a decline in the near future and, owing to its small population, it requires monitoring." The monitoring was not done, and it has taken SABAP2 to alert us to the reality that this is a species which is now in real trouble.

The latest issue of Promerops, the magazine of the Cape Bird Club, contains an article by Francois van der Merwe in which he describes a nest he found in the Hantam Mountains north of Calvinia in the Northern Cape. The article highlights the sensitivity of this species to disturbance: "Although I tried to observe the parents at the nest, this proved impossible as they were extremely wary and would not come to the nest at all when I was in the area. ... I soon abandoned the idea of making direct observations."

In fact, one of the factors common to many of the species showing range reductions between SABAP1 and SABAP2 is a lack of tolerance to human disturbance.

[Toko]

Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
Order Ciconiiforme – Family Ciconiidae



Size
Length: 145-150cm. Wingspan : 240-270cm. Weight: Male: 5-7.5kg – Female: 5-7kg

Description
The head, neck and wings are black, with all other plumage white. At the center of the breast is a small, oval shaped patch of bare, red skin. Their most striking feature is the large slightly up curved bill, which is crimson with a dark band around the center and a striking yellow fleshy area at the base of the upper bill, the ‘saddle’. Males often have small yellow wattles at lower base. Legs and feet are blackish, with pinkish knees. Males are larger, around 6 kg, with dark eyes while the females are slightly smaller, around 5 kg, with yellow eyes. Juvenile is duller, mostly grey overall. Immature resembles adults, but duller. It reaches its sexual maturity at three years or more.

Juvenile

Distribution
Saddle-billed storks occur throughout tropical Africa, from Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia, south to northern South Africa.

Habitat
It inhabits extensive wetlands in open, semi-arid areas and savanna, with relatively high abundances of fish and with large trees nearby for nesting and roosting. Suitable habitats include shallow freshwater marshes, wet grasslands, the margins of large or small rivers, lake shores, pans and flood-plains.

Social Structure
Saddle-billed storks are highly territorial and are usually found solitarily, in pairs, or in groups.The species nests in solitary pairs and usually remains solitary when not breeding, although it may occur in small family parties or in groups of up to 12 individuals.

Breeding
It is believed that they are generally monogamous, with some pair bonds lasting for years. Their breeding display consists of running short distances, jumping, and pirouetting with wings spread. This is called the Flap-Dash display and may be performed by either the male or female or both together.
Saddle-billed storks build large stick nests, usually at the top of a tall tree, near water. The male does the majority of the nest building, with the female seemingly supervising building activities, throwing out what she doesn’t like. The nest is a large flat platform of sticks placed up to 20-30m in a tree near water isolated from other trees and sources of disturbance. These birds often reuse the same nest, adding new materials to the structure.
Clutch size is 1-5, normally 2-3, pale blue to white eggs. Incubation lasts about 30 to 35 days. Both parents incubate the eggs and protect the nest area. Young are altricial, and parents feed the young by regurgitating food items onto the floor of the nest, which the nestlings pick up and swallow. Water is brought to the nest and regurgitated over the chicks for cooling. The chicks often drink this water as it flows out of the parents’ mouths. Generally two offspring, more rarely three, will fledge the nest at 60 to 100 days old. Offspring maintain their juvenile plumage and eye color until about 3 years of age when they achieve adult plumage and sexual maturity.
This species does not usually breed every year. The young birds of one or two years remain in the territory with parents, until the next breeding period.

Diet
Saddle-billed storks are opportunistic and carnivorous, feeding in wet areas. The diet consists predominantly of fish 15-30 cm long up to 500 g in weight, as well as crabs, shrimps, frogs, reptiles, small mammals, young birds, molluscs and insects (e.g. large water beetles, termite alates). There are some reports of saddle-billed storks eating carrion. Saddle-billed Stork feeds as large herons, by walking slowly in shallow water. It stalks preys such as fish, crustaceans and amphibians. It also searches by stabbing the bill into water, catching prey by contact, and in the same way into mud and vegetation. It swallows the fish head first and then, it drinks some water. Preys are jabbed with the bill.

Status and conservation
Saddle-billed storks are widespread, but uncommon and are not considered globally threatened. They may be susceptible to important changes in wetland areas and could easily become threatened. South Africa lists saddle-billed storks as an endangered species, as there are about 50 pairs. It is estimated that there are only between 25 and 30 breeding pairs of Saddle-billed Storks in the greater Kruger area.
The question as to why they are struggling is still not completely known. Firstly, this is a big bird that occurs in isolated, widely spread pairs, and it breeds slowly and irregularly – an unfavourable demographic profile.
Secondly, it needs large trees for nesting and fresh water as a source of decent-sized fish (its staple diet), so its resource requirements are quite demanding.
Thirdly, it may be sensitive to human disturbance, and will not nest if under any stress. Another issue is that the stork’s dependence on wetlands, and in particular large rivers, means that it is exposed to the effects wrought by dams, soil erosion and silting, and to the chemical pollution of these systems.

A pair of Saddle-billed Storks are breeding in a large riparian tree several hundred metres downstream of site of the proposed Malelane Hotel.

[Toko]

The scientific name for Saddle-billed Stork is Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis. The genus name Ephippiorhynchus is derived from Greek ephippos, "something which is placed on a horse" (a sort of saddle obviously ), and rhynchus, "bill", and refers to the frontal shield which saddles the bill of one species. Senegalensis means "from Senegal". An apt name, a "Saddle-bill from Senegal"

[Amoli]

Saddled bill stork (one of the BIG SIX birds)

[Lisbeth]

Saddle-billed stork (Kruger National Park, somewhere in the south )

[leachy]