Jabiru

The jabiru (/ˌdʒæbɪˈruː/ or /ˈdʒæbɪruː/; Latin: Jabiru mycteria) is a large stork

Jabiru
found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It is
most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of
Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus Jabiru. The name comes from a
Tupi–Guaraní language and means "swollen neck".

Contents
Taxonomy
In the Pantanal, Brazil

Description Conservation status

Life history
Food and feeding habits
Breeding
Conservation Least Concern (IUCN 3.1 )[1]
Gallery
Scientific classification
References
External links
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Taxonomy
Order: Ciconiiformes
Hinrich Lichtenstein described the jabiru in 1819. The name jabiru has also been
Family: Ciconiidae
used for two other birds of a distinct genus: black-necked stork
(Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), commonly called "jabiru" in Australia; and Genus: Jabiru
sometimes also for the saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) of Hellmayr , 1906
Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, Gardiner's Egyptian hieroglyph G29, believed
Species: J. mycteria
to depict an E. senegalensis, is sometimes labeled "jabiru" in hieroglyph lists. The
Ephippiorhynchus are believed to be the jabiru's closest living cousins, indicating Binomial name
an Old World origin for the species.[2] Jabiru mycteria
The proposed Late Pleistocene fossil stork genus Prociconia from Brazil might (Lichtenstein , 1819)
actually belong in Jabiru. A fossil species of jabiru was found in the early
Pliocene Codore Formation near Urumaco, Venezuela.[3]

In Portuguese, the bird is called jabiru, jaburu, tuiuiu, tuim-de-papo-vermelho ("red-necked tuim", in Mato Grosso) and cauauá (in
the Amazon Basin). The name tuiuiu is also used in southern Brazil for thewood stork (Mycteria americana).

Description
The jabiru is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America, often standing nearly the same height as the
flightless and thus much heavier American rhea. For the continent, it also has the second largest wingspan, after the Andean condor
(that is, excluding the great albatross occasionally found off the coast of southern South America).[2] The adult jabiru is 120–140 cm
(47–55 in) long, 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) across the wings, and can weigh 4.3–9 kg (9.5–19.8 lb).[2] Sexual dimorphism is high,
possibly the highest of any stork, with males being about 25% larger than females. Males weigh an average of 6.89 kg (15.2 lb)
[4]
whereas females weigh an average of 5.22 kg (11.5 lb).[4] Large males may stand as
tall as 1.53 m (5.0 ft). The beak, which measures 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in), is black
and broad, slightly upturned, ending in a sharp point. Among other standard
measurements, the tail measures 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in), the tarsus measures 28.5–
39 cm (11.2–15.4 in) long and the wing chord measures 58.5–73 cm (23.0–
28.7 in).[2] The plumage is mostly white, but the head and upper neck are featherless
and black, with a featherless red stretchable pouch at the base. The sexes are similar
in appearance but the male is larger, which can be noticeable when the sexes are
Closeup of head
together. While it can give the impression of being an ungainly bird on the ground,
the jabiru is a powerful and graceful flier.

Life history

Food and feeding habits

The jabiru lives in large groups near rivers and ponds, and eats prodigious quantities of
fish, molluscs, and amphibians. It will occasionally eat reptiles, bird eggs and small
mammals. It will even eat fresh carrion and dead fish, such as those that die during dry
spells, and thus help maintain the quality of isolated bodies of water. They feed in flocks
and usually forage by wading in shallow water. Jabirus detect prey more through tactile
sensation than vision. They feed by holding their open bill at a 45 degree angle to the
water. When prey is contacted, the storks close their bill, draw it out of the water, and
throw their head back to swallow.[5] It is an opportunistic feeder. In one instance when
house mice experienced a population explosion in an agricultural area, and several
hundred jabirus could be seen in each field feeding on the rodents (unusual for a bird
that's rarely seen in large numbers anywhere).[2] On rare occasions, jabirus have been
seen attempting to kleptoparasitize the two smaller storks it co-exists with, the wood and
maguari storks.[2]
In the Pantanal, Mato Grosso,
Brazil

Breeding
The nest of sticks is built by both parents around August–September (in the Southern Hemisphere) on tall trees, and enlarged at each
succeeding season growing to several meters in diameter. Nests are often deeper than they are wide, they can be up to 1 m (3.3 ft)
wide and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) deep.[5] Half a dozen nests may be built in close proximity, sometimes among nests of herons and other birds.
The parents take turns incubating the clutch of two to five white eggs and are known to more territorial than usual against other
jabirus during the brooding period.Raccoons and other storks (including their own species) are occasion predators of jabiru eggs, but
most nest predators appear to avoid these huge-billed birds and there are no known predators of healthy adult jabirus.[5] Although the
young fledge around 110 days old, they often spend around another 3 months in the care of their parents. Because of this long length
of time spent brooding, pairs have difficulty breeding in successive years. Less than half of active pairs in one season are active the
[5]
next season. Only 25% of successful pairs are successful the next season. The lifespan average is 36 years.

Conservation
Jabiru are widespread but not abundant in any area. They are considered a species of least concern by the IUCN, an improvement
from a status of near threatened in 1988.[1] Jabiru gained protected status in Belize in 1973. Since then, their numbers in that area
[5]
have slowly risen. They have been granted protected status by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

Gallery
 Pair on nest, in the Pantanal, A moment before In flight, in the Pantanal, Brazil
Brazil flying on Laguna
Oca, Formosa,
Argentina

References
1. BirdLife International (2012). "Jabiru mycteria" (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697710). IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature . Retrieved 26 November 2013.
2. Hancock & Kushan, Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. Princeton University Press (1992),ISBN 978-0-12-
322730-0
3. Walsh, S. A.; Sánchez, R. (2008). "The first Cenozoic fossil bird from Venezuela". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 82
(2): 105–112. doi:10.1007/bf02988402 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fbf02988402).
4. CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), ISBN 978-1-
4200-6444-5.
5. ADW- Jabiru mycteria- Information(http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Jabiru_mycteri
a.html) (2011).

External links
"Jabiru". Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). 1911.
Jabiru Video Documentary
Jabiru videos on the Internet Bird Collection
Mangoverde.com: Jabiru Jabiru mycteria. Retrieved 2006-DEC-06.
Saúde Animal: Jaburu ou tuiuiú: Espécie animal brasileiro ameaçado de extinção[in Portuguese]. Retrieved 6
December 2006.
[1]
Stamps (for nine countries) with a range map
Jabiru photo gallery VIREO
Photo-High Res; Article borderland-tours

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jabiru&oldid=811375119

"

This page was last edited on 21 November 2017, at 06:02.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.