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  In flight

Cranes & Waders

Hamerkop

Scopus umbretta

• uncommon
• 35 km/h
• Least Concern

Builds nests big enough for a human to sit in. Over 8,000 sticks, decorated with bones and bright objects.

Population

Not numerically quantified by IUCN; the 2016 IUCN assessment (BirdLife International, doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697356A93610351.en) states the population size is "very large" with a stable trend; some regional sources describe local increases tied to artificial wetlands (rice paddies, fish ponds, reservoirs)

Habitat

Shallow wetlands and their margins: rivers, streams, seasonal pools, estuaries, reservoirs, marshes, mangroves, lake shores, and man-made habitats such as rice paddies and fish ponds; also forages in adjacent savanna and forest edge, generally within roughly 300-3,000 m elevation and near large trees used for nesting

Fun fact

A single hamerkop pair builds several enormous, roofed stick nests each year (three to five, using an estimated 8,000 sticks and 10-14 weeks of work, often over 1.5 m across and strong enough to bear a person's weight) whether or not they are breeding, and the abandoned nests are frequently taken over by owls, geese, and other birds.

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and coastal southwestern Arabia (Yemen/Saudi Arabia); two subspecies recognized (S. u. umbretta across most of tropical Africa and Madagascar, S. u. minor along the West African coastal belt from Sierra Leone to Nigeria)

Diet

Generalist carnivore of wetland prey: mainly fish and amphibians (especially frogs and tadpoles), plus shrimp, aquatic insects, grasshoppers and other invertebrates, and occasionally small rodents; forages by wading in shallow water and probing mud, sometimes stirring the substrate with its feet to flush prey

Size

0.56 m

Wingspan

0.92 m