We are going to present you with these two strange birds that we found at campingfunzone.com the Marabou Stork – Long-Wattled Umbrella Bird.
When are you due?
OB-GYNs in Africa now unanimously agree that delivering babies would be extremely creepy if they came bundled in rags carried by a Marabou Stork. This bird won’t be carrying newborns anytime soon, but it will happily devour your baby’s diapers. The Marabou Stork is a scavenger – eating everything from carrion to small animals, and more commonly human trash around dumps in its native Africa.
The Marabou Stork is absolutely huge – reaching heights of up to 5 feet, weight of up to 20 lbs. and a wingspan of up to 10 feet across – the largest span of any bird. This stork is also uncannily known as the Undertaker Bird – it wears a black cloak of feathers, the hair-like head feathers “become clotted with blood and other substances when the bird’s head was inside a large corpse.” To keep cool, it defecates on its legs and feet. That is some undertaking.
Just a little crusted blood. No big deal.
The pouch. Filled with secrets.
Dumpster diving reaches new heights.
Long-Wattled Umbrella Bird
If Rihanna only knew about this.
If a mop and a feather duster had a baby….
The Long-Wattled Umbrella Bird is no stranger to falling drops of water. It lives in the Choco rainforests in Ecuador and western Colombia. While the hanging feather wattle at its neck doesn’t expand upwards and shade the bird, it is inflatable and amplifies its powerful calls.
Wow. What a wattle.
Photos via SkyscraperCity, EarthandScience, Flickr, Wildlife-photo.org
