Jabiru Stork Facts | Brazil Wildlife Guide
Building nests is a major construction job. The brooding nest is generally built on a high tree in an open area above the rainforest. The cumbersome birds weave a platform from large branches measuring as much as 10 feet across. The hatchlings (two to four) are an indiscriminate gray color that eventually changes into the adult coloration of a black beak, white body, and black head, with a bright red band below the neck.
Occasionally seen in farmers’ fields, from a distance these storks look like bent-over old men wearing red neckties. The birds feed in and around swamps and ponds, preferring snails, frogs, small mammals, fish and especially reptiles.
Header Credit: John Tann [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr