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Scopus umbretta
The strangest aspect of Hamerkop behavior is the huge nest, sometimes more than 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) across, comprising perhaps 10,000 sticks and strong enough to support a man's weight. The birds decorate the outside with any bright-coloured objects they can find. When possible, they build the nest in the fork of a tree, often over water, but if necessary they build on a bank, a cliff, a human-built wall or dam, or on the ground. A pair starts by making a platform of sticks held together with mud, then builds walls and a domed roof. A mud-plastered entrance 13–18 centimetres (5.1–7.1 in) wide in the bottom leads through a tunnel up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long to a nesting chamber big enough for the parents and young. Wikipedia
San Francisco Zoo, CA
7 Comments
Thank you Ava T-B for the nest link!
hank you alicelongmartin and mcaul6515!
Beautiful photos!
Thanks Alice, I like weaving things together.
Ava. that was nice that you pulled up the nest also!
Here's a PN picture of the nest you describe http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/128...
Fascinating bird and information!