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  Profile

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  In flight

Cranes & Waders

Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

• legendary
• 40 km/h
• Near Threatened

Africa's tallest stork, standing 1.5m. Bill has a yellow saddle between red panels and a black band. Unmistakable.

Population

5,200-15,000 mature individuals, decreasing (BirdLife International 2025 assessment, criteria C2a(ii); population size uncertain, noted as possibly small but poor data quality)

Habitat

Extensive fresh, brackish, or alkaline wetlands in open semi-arid areas and savanna, including shallow marshes, wet grasslands, river margins, lake shores, and floodplains with large trees nearby for nesting/roosting; avoids densely forested regions

Fun fact

Saddle-billed storks show striking sexual dimorphism in their eyes: females have golden-yellow irises, while males have dark brown eyes and dangling yellow facial wattles at the base of the bill; males are also larger and heavier, while females show more white in their flight feathers.

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa, patchily distributed: more frequent from Ethiopia and Sudan south through Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, and Mozambique to South Africa; West African populations (Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire) are severely reduced and largely restricted to protected areas; has disappeared as a breeding bird from Nigeria, Togo, and Mali

Diet

Mainly fish (including lungfish and catfish up to about 1.3 kg, swallowed head-first), plus frogs, snails, small mammals, birds, snakes, and insects

Size

1.45 m

Wingspan

2.55 m

Lifespan

19 years