Darwin's Experiment
 Darwin's Experiment 

Marabou Stork, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore

wiki: The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips.

It is a huge bird, 150cm in length, and its 3.2 m (10.5 ft) wingspan means that it shares the distinction of having the largest wingspan of any landbird with the Andean Condor. Unlike most storks, the three Leptoptilos species fly with the neck retracted like a heron.

[...] The Marabou Stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this, as it is with the vultures with which the stork often feeds. In both cases, a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird's head was inside a large corpse, and the bare head is easier to keep clean.

This large and powerful bird will also feed on small mammals, reptiles, and similar prey.
Canon EOS 20D: 200mm (320mm) f/4 1/400" ISO 200 Capture time: 2005-04-11 10:44:02

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