Yellow-billed Stork

Description:

The Yellow-billed stork (Mycteria ibis), sometimes also called the wood stork or wood ibis, is a large African wading stork species in the Ciconiidae family. Its height is about 100 cm, and is mostly white stork with a strong, very long and slightly curved yellow bill; and red long legs. Breeding adult has easily recognizable naked bright red facial skin.

Habitat:

Common resident in sub-Saharan Africa, and partial intra-African migrant. Always found near water, in marshes rivers, lakes, estuaries. Here, on shores of lake Awassa, in marshy parts of this shallow freshwater (or slightly alkaline) lake.

Notes:

Lake Awassa (or Hawassa) is a part of main Ethiopian Rift Valley series of lakes, situated at some 1700 m of altitude. Like most of Rift lakes in Ethiopian highlands, this is an endorreic lake (landlocked mass of water having no outlet and not connected to the sea), and as such surrounded by marshes that regulate its levels through evaporation. Because of marshes and its forested shores, the lake is known as birdwatcher's paradise - very rich with various waders. Unfortunately, as seen on Ph N° 1, many of these marshes, as they are open to visitors and access isi very easy and non regulated, are very polluted by plastic garbage...