Bird of the Week: Jabiru

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This bird of the week certainly grows up, but it never stops playing with its food!

Name:

Common: Jabiru

Scientific: Jabiru mycteria

Where It Is Found:

The jabiru has a wide distribution. It’s occurs east of the Andes in South America. But its distribution does extend north along the east coast of Central America and Mexico. It can actually be seen irregularly in the United States. But it’s a rarity of the most southern wetlands and shouldn’t remotely be expected.

Relationships:

The jabiru is a stork, but it seems to actually be more closely be related to Old World species. So it’s a nearer relative of the saddle-billed stork rather than a species typical of the New World, such as the wood stork.

Distinguishing Features:

The jabiru is pretty distinctive bird. It has a stocky white, floofy body that strongly contrasts with its black everything else (head, face, bill, neck, and legs), except for the broad pink to scarlet band at the bottom of its neck.

The jabiru is the tallest flighted bird in South America! The rhea, which is just as tall, is also flightless and much heavier. It would be hard to confused with the other two storks its range overlaps, as the jabiru is much larger and sports its jaunty pink collar.

It also has a long, heavy tapered beak that tells fish that this bird means business.

Likes:

Fish, but also amphibians or mollusks or other moving critters. And sometimes non-moving critters, as it isn’t above eating some fresh carrion.

Wetlands and rivers, where fish and other prey might be found in shallow, wadable areas.

Playing with its food! Apparently, it feeds based on touch more than sight, so it uses this beak like a snap trap. It clamps down on whatever moves, then tosses it in the air to pop it into its gaping maw. It’s an interesting behavior to see in action!

A Note About Names:

The only bird in its genus, the jabiru’s name (derived from a Tupian language of South America) means “swollen neck”. Which is fitting, given the appearance of the birds above! However, you’ll find the name “jabiru” applied to a few other storks. Don’t be fooled!

For example, the black-necked stork is often referred to as “jabiru” in Australia. But that is not part of its standard common name. It is not a member of the eponymous genus. It is a bit smaller and a distant relative of the handsome, statuesque Jabiru.