The Jabiru is a large wetland stork with a prehistoric appearance found in the lowland neotropics. It has a massive black bill that curves slightly upward, a bare black neck with a large red patch at the base, and entirely white plumage. Other large South American storks have black wings.
Order: Ciconiiformes | Family: Ciconiidae
Common name: Garzon soldado, Jabiru
Scientific name: Jabiru mycteria.
Conservation status: Least concern (LC)
Best season for jabiru: All year round
Description
The Jabiru has entirely white plumage with a predominantly black bare neck and a reddish skin ring at its base. It features a large, downy plume of feathers at the nape and possesses a massive and deep bill. Males are typically larger, with even longer and deeper bills, and the amount of red can vary. Juveniles have pale gray upperparts with gray-brownish-silver feather edges, and their primary feathers are pale brown washed white on the inner webs. However, these feathers become mostly white during the first winter, except for some dark feathers scattered across the upperparts, especially in the wing coverts.
Habitat
The Jabiru inhabits large freshwater swamps, savannas, plains, ranchlands with ponds and lagoons, banks of large rivers, and lakes with scattered trees, as well as flooded agricultural areas and estuaries. In Colombia, it is often found in rice fields, especially outside the breeding season. It prefers shallow pools without vegetation during the dry season but will use slightly deeper waters in flooded fields during the rainy season.
Nesting
Nesting is usually solitary or in groups of up to six nests, but it is sometimes associated with mixed colonies of other Ciconiiformes. They typically nest in the crowns of tall palm trees, e.g., Copernicia tectorum: the tree may die, particularly after successive years of nesting; they also nest in tall mangroves.
*Source:https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.jabiru.01
