What to Know About the African Openbill Bird in Uganda?

The African Openbill in Uganda is one of the Uganda Bird Species seen during Uganda Birding Safari. African open bill is a member of the genus Anastomus but with unusual bill, well adapted to feeding behaviors of both species.

This medium-sized bird is an Anastomus lamelligerus species of stork that belongs to the Ciconiidae family, order-Ciconiiformes, kingdom-Animalia, phylum-Chordata, class-Aves and genus-Anastomus.

It is a big bird, with a length between 80-94cm and weight 1000-1300g (1-1.3kg).

How Does the African Openbill Stork in Uganda Look Like?

Both the adult female and male African bill stork are similar except that the ale is lager than the female, their plumage is dark but with glossy green, purple or brown mantle and breast.

Their bill is large and brownish-horn, and pale at the base. Its mandibles join only at the tip and have a wide gap of about 5- 6 millimeters between them.

The upper mandible of the African open bill stork is almost straight with some small columnar pads between 20-30, which it uses to grip the shell and to extract the mollusc.

African bill stork has grey eyes with bare eye-ring and bluish lores. Its legs and feet are black. The young African bill stork is duller and browner and the upper parts of its feather tips are pale.

The young African bill stork develops the gap between the mandibles little by little.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

Just like other Ciconiidae species do, the African bill stork produces loud croaks and honks. During the displays, it produces bill-clatters.

Where Does the African Open Billed-Stork in Uganda Live?

This bird hangs out in marshes, swamps, shores of lakes and rivers, rice fields and flooded plains. In can also be found in moist Savannah and burnt grasslands.

Mainly it frequents areas with freshwater wetlands and occasionally in streams neighboring tall trees for nesting.

The African openbill performs some migrations in flocks according to weather conditions. In Uganda, the African openbill is found in Murchison falls national park.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Behave?

The African openbill often moves individually or in small groups especially during feeding, the walk slowly in shallow water digging into the mud with its bill.

They normally follow grazing hippopotamus waiting for snails disturbed by the huge animal.

What Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Feed On?

African open billed stork feeds mainly on aquatic nails but even fresh water mussels. In Uganda most especially, the African open billed stork takes terrestrial nails, frogs, crabs, fish, large insects and worms.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Feed?

The African open-billed stork notices the snail by sight and touch, then clasps it between mandibles. It then puts its lower bill into the shell to remove the operculum and cut the strong muscle.

This bird then then extracts the molluscs while its upper mandible tip holds the shell. The bird repeatedly comes on the same site to feed the snails.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Nest?

The African open-billed stork nests in colonies and their shelter litter is just below. They usually nest during the rainy season.

They carry snails by the bill tip to the nest to feed their young chicks. They usually nest in tress over water and in reedbeds.

The builds smaller nests of a bout 50centimeters wide made of sticks, reeds at the base wile lining the nest with grass, leaves and sedges.

How Does the African Open Billed stork in Uganda Breed?

Their breeding season often start just before or when the rainy season has begun, between August and May, when the snails are in plenty.

They are sociable birds especially during the breeding, they practice display of storks such as up-down or greeting display among themselves.

They also make their pair-bonds stronger by bill-clattering. The males stand on the branch and advertise to the female by rocking from one leg to the other while the head is held down between the legs.

They frequently copulate during nest building and when on the nest as the male continues to practice bill-clattering.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Fly?

This bird sustains a flapping flight during migration. It can also use thermals during long distance flights. They outstretch the head and neck while the wide-long wings are adapted for soaring.

How Does the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda Reproduce?

Females lay about 3-4 chalky white oval eggs and both the male and female incubate the eggs for about 25-30 days.

The newly hatched chicks are black with a normal bill and the gap develops slowly-by-slowly over several years. Both parents feed their young ones and fledging occurs 50-55days after hatching.

What is Threatening to the African Open-billed Stork in Uganda?

This species is threatened by habitat loss, they usually lack feeding areas especially when there’s too much pollution of their habitats by mosquito repellent pesticides.

These birds are also traded in Nigeria’s traditional markets as medicine, so they are being poached and hunted by humans. They are however common in suitable habitats.