- Ephippiorhynchus
Taxobox
name = " Ephippiorhynchus "
fossil_range = LateMiocene to Recent
image_width = 200px
image_caption =Saddle-billed Stork , "Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis"
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Ciconiiformes
familia =Ciconiidae
genus = "Ephippiorhynchus"
genus_authority = Bonaparte,1855 " Ephippiorhynchus" is a small
genus ofstork s. It contains two livingspecies only, very largebird s more than 140cm tall with a 230-270cm wingspan. Both are mainly black and white, with huge colourful, mainly red and black bills. The sexes of these species are similarly plumaged, but differ in eye colour. The members of this genus are sometimes called "jabiru s", but this properly refers to a close relative fromLatin America .The species are:
*
Saddle-billed Stork , "Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis" of sub-SaharanAfrica
*Black-necked Stork , "Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus" of tropicalAsia A prehistoric relative, "Ephippiorhynchus pakistanensis", has been described from Late
Miocene fossils found inPakistan . At about the same time, another now-extinct species occurred in eastern to central Africa.These large wading birds breed in marshes and other wetlands, building a large, deep stick nest in a tree. Like most storks, they fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a
heron ; in flight, they present a strange shape, with the head and large bill somewhat drooping down. They are silent except for bill-clattering at the nest." Ephippiorhynchus" storks, like most of their relatives, feeds mainly on
fish ,frog s andcrab s, but also on youngbird s, and other landvertebrate s. They move in a deliberate and stately manner as they hunt, in a similar way to the largerheron .These birds are not infrequently kept in captivity by zoos or aviculturalists. Individuals occasionally escape, and these have been proposed to be responsible for sightings of "Big Bird"
cryptid s; the Saddle-billed Stork is the most likely basis for theKongamato .The genus name "Ephippiorhynchus" is derived from
Ancient Greek "ephippos", a saddle (literally "something which is placed on a horse"), and "rhynchus", "bill", and refers to the frontal shield which saddles the bill of one species.References
* Barlow, Clive (1997): "A field guide to birds of the Gambia and Senegal". Pica Press, Nr. Robertsbridge (East Sussex). ISBN 1-873403-32-1
* Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): "Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives". Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
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