African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus)

Family
Ciconiidae (Storks)

Size
80 - 94 cm

First Described (Guide)
Temminck, 1823

Habitat
Wetlands, including temporarily flooded pans, flood plains, swamps, marshes, ponds, streams, river shallows, dams, rice fields, lagoons, lake edges and intertidal flats.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of] (B), Togo, Uganda, Zambia (B), Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 300,000 - 500,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Almost exclusively snails and bivalves.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files

African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) [XC84191]
by id from South Luangwa National Park Wamilombe, Zambia (call)

Nest
A thin platform composed of sticks and twigs, lined with leaves, grass, sedges and other aquatic plants, usually in a tree or bush on an island or partially submerged area. In colonies of about 60 pairs, often with other species such as cormorants, herons, spoonbills, darters and storks.

Eggs (Guide)
3 - 5. Incubation: 21 - 30 days; by both sexes.

Young
Fledge in 50 - 55 days.

Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

lamelligerus Temminck, 1823 - Africa, south of Sahara.
madagascariensis Milne-Edwards, 1880 - Madagascar.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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