Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis).
The Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) is a large wading bird in the stork family (Now that must have come as a surprise to you… a yellow-billed stork part of the stork family..??? Bulldog go to bed.. you need sleep.) It occurs in Africa south of the Sahara and in Madagascar. Its a medium-sized stork. Length: 97 cm; average body weight for males: 2.3 kg; for females: 1.9 kg. Plumage mainly pinkish-white with black wings and tail; bill yellow, blunt, and de-curved at tip.
Ok and how and what do they eat???? wake up….
They have a fishing technique of using one foot to stir up the water to flush out prey. A quick muscular reflex in the neck enables yellow-billed storks to catch almost all of their food in the water. Brilliant.!!!! I know, I know, they eat……Crustaceans, small fish, frogs, insects and worms.
Now here’s a gob-smacking fact for you….!!!!
The books say these birds do not socialise with each other… notice do not … then I wonder what is going on here.. a committee meeting, a union..?? A gathering of the clan to remind each and everyone “Hey, fellows we don’t like socialising, have you forgotten the fact.???” Or is this the Bus Stop to tomorrow..?? A funeral.? A wake.? Someone should let them know they don’t like socialising…!!!!!!
Now this one looks as though he’s saying “if that croc gets any nearer.. I’m going to have to move..”
Ooooooh… a fishing we will go, a fishing we will go, hi ho a merryio a fishing we will go….
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
What amazing birds!! Love all of the images..the color is just outstanding…the last one…love, love, love it 🙂
Thank you… down at the coast at the moment… so won’t be posting for a few days… a trip that had to happen very quickly… 740 km later we’re by the sea…
You know, it’s standing on one leg like that while dizzy that got me in big trouble during yoga. And now I have to go to physical therapy instead of yoga classes. I wouldn’t make a very good Yellow-billed stork…
I’m not sure how to answer this comment… picturing you on one leg at yoga… I thought with yoga one sat on your tail end and tried your best to get your legs tied in knots in different position … physical therapy can be far more painful than yoga… specially if you get a sadistic therapist…
Oh, you do all kinds of poses in yoga. And I’m sure you’ll be hearing about my PT misadventures in the near future… ;|
how absolutely stunning, though i have to say that i am a little disappointed that it cannot talk like so many of your other bird friends.. didn’t it say anything Doctor D? c
It did, but it was a little on the rude side when I was shouting at it to catch something seeing as it was so close…
i hope you sent him to his bedroom to think about his behaviour.. c
That I did, he was so un co-operative with his fishing I had to resort to swearing at him in return…
These photos are just disarming. There’s a big difference when birds are captured in a photograph.
Once again I thank you for the comment and visit…
The pleasure is mine, sir.
I hope because I say the same thing almost every time you don’t think I’m being disingenuous! I am in such awe of the variety of birds you encounter. We were at an Imax theater presentation today that was really focused on the treasures of Egypt, but in the film footage there were so many birds and animals that I couldn’t help but think of you! South Africa is an incredible region! I love these guys! 🙂
Thank you.. and you can continue to tell me how lucky I am, just in case I become complacent and forget the fact… some times the news stories make me wonder if I’m so lucky, then a day or two with the camera looking for something different does remind me how lucky I am…
That last photo is also my favourite. They really do look as though they’re all waiting for something important. Maybe it’s the taxi rank. 🙂
Now why didn’t I think of that one…. thank you.. I was hoping to capture a catch when I took the last photo, every time his mouth twitched I took a photo…
That last photo is one grand finale!! Awesome color!
Thank you…
Bellissimo come hai presentato questi scatti, mi hai anche fatta sorridere. Le foto, beh che dire, sono eccezionali, fantastiche
Complimenti 🙂
Ciao, Pat
Thanks so much Pat.. I appreciate the complimenti
Reminds me of all the “experts” that say cats are solitary creatures. I invite them to see the four huddled together on my bed right now.
There you go…
Hmm, there is definitly some sort of gathering happening there 🙂
Glad you could see it too… some thing going on…
I love this post, the photos and the write up! thanks for the smile!
I enjoyed it … a late night blog post preparation… that had me ponder the wisdom of the wise…
now that’s deep! 🙂
Hmmm….they are together, but they are not looking at each other. I don’t know bulldog. Great set of shots though and I love that last one, it’s a beautiful bird.
Thank you…. I’m not sure where they get there facts from, but I do disagree with them…
Bulldog, I think books aren’t always right, maybe the Stork can live next to each other nowadays. Again fantastic shots and song 😀
I agree, I often wonder where the “experts” get there info or how they make these deductions… I have often come across large groups together… but none of these experts would ever lower themselves to look at my blog or for that matter pay much attention to someone like me that often spends time just sitting and observing nature and all it’s strange nuances… I am preparing a post on just such a fact that I’ve observed for the last 3 weeks of how a mother Fiscal Shrike has taught her two offspring how to hunt for their own food… and this I’ve done just by quietly sitting and observing… wonderful this thing called nature…
Wow, fantastic shots… what kind of camera are you using?
Thank you… it’s a Fujifilm HS 10 hope soon to upgrade to the HS 30….
What incredible photos! Also a bit of a coincidence that we both wrote about an ibis bird today. I wouldn’t mind borrowing a bit of your photographic skill though!
What do they say…great minds etc… thanks Julie…
eventually, I’ll have to to look at & love all your bird posts 🙂
That will take you some time… thanks for the visit always enjoy seeing you’ve been around…
love the last photo – you could come up with a great caption for that one I’m sure!
I was very tempted… but felt I’d done enough damage with the write up…