The Saddle-billed Stork, a wader with a spectacular bill and contrasting plumage.
The Colorful Giant of the Marshes
The Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is one of the largest and most elegant stork species in the world. With its sharply contrasting black and white plumage and massive, colorful bill, it is an iconic figure of African wetlands. This tall wader spends its days striding through shallow waters in search of aquatic prey, moving with a surprising grace for its stature. Often seen alone or in pairs, the Saddle-billed Stork is a majestic bird that leaves no observer indifferent.
Saddle-billed Stork Fact Sheet
Scientific name: Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
Height: 140 to 150 cm (4.6 to 4.9 ft)
Wingspan: 240 to 270 cm (7.9 to 8.9 ft)
Weight: 5 to 7.5 kg (male), 5 to 7 kg (female)
Diet: fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects
Lifespan: up to 36 years in captivity
IUCN Status: Least Concern (LC)
Distribution: wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa
Our Ornithologist's Tip
By the Les-Oiseaux.com team, published on August 18, 2025.
My personal tip: To determine the sex of a Saddle-billed Stork, look at its eyes! It's the most reliable method. The female has a very bright golden-yellow iris, while the male has a dark brown eye. With a good pair of binoculars, this difference is striking. Also, if you're observing a pair, the male is generally a bit taller. It's a fascinating detail that adds to the charm of watching these magnificent birds.
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Identifying the Saddle-billed Stork: Key Features
With its large size and bright colors, the Saddle-billed Stork is hard to mistake. Along with the Marabou Stork, it is the tallest of the storks.
Plumage: The body is white, contrasting with the head, neck, back, and wings, which are an iridescent black. The primary flight feathers are white, which is visible when the bird spreads its wings.
Bill: Its bill is its most spectacular feature. Massive, long, and slightly upturned, it is bright red with a broad black band. At its base is a bright yellow frontal shield, or caruncle, resembling a saddle, which gives the bird its name.
Head: Entirely black, extending down the long black neck.
Legs: The long legs are black, but the knee joints and feet are pinkish to red.
Sexual Dimorphism: Males and females are primarily distinguished by their eye color. The male has dark brown eyes and two small yellow wattles under his bill, while the female has golden-yellow eyes and lacks these wattles.
The unique bill of the Saddle-billed Stork is a formidable hunting tool and a foolproof identification feature.
Not to be confused with...
Marabou Stork
As tall as the Saddle-billed Stork, the Marabou has a very different appearance with its bare pink head and neck, a large gular sac, and duller grey and white plumage.
While sharing the same habitat, the Sacred Ibis is smaller with mostly white plumage. Its black head and neck are bare (featherless), and its long black bill is distinctly down-curved.
The Saddle-billed Stork is a generally silent bird. It does not have a complex syrinx, which would allow it to sing. The only vocalizations it produces are at the nest, where, like most storks, it engages in loud bill-clattering to communicate with its partner or young.
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Behavior: A Patient Fisher
The Saddle-billed Stork is a sedentary bird that usually lives alone or in monogamous pairs. It is a patient hunter that moves slowly and methodically through the shallow waters of marshes and rivers. It hunts mainly by sight, spotting its prey and catching it with a quick, powerful strike of its bill. It can also probe the mud with its bill open, snapping it shut upon contact with prey.
Its diet is varied but primarily piscivorous. It feeds on fish, frogs, crustaceans, and mollusks, as well as reptiles, insects, and occasionally small mammals or young birds.
Although territorial, it may gather with other waders at food-rich sites. Its flight is powerful, with slow, deep wing beats, and it uses thermal currents to soar at high altitudes.
Symbolism and Cultural Significance
The Saddle-billed Stork, with its noble posture and spectacular colors, has long fascinated African cultures. In ancient Egypt, it was depicted in hieroglyphs symbolizing vigilance and protection.
Even today, its presence is often considered an indicator of healthy wetlands. It is a powerful symbol of the beauty and fragility of the continent's aquatic ecosystems.
Habitat and Distribution
The Saddle-billed Stork is a species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to South Africa. It is sedentary and remains faithful to its territory as long as water and food resources are sufficient.
It inhabits a wide variety of wetlands: marshes, freshwater or brackish lakes, floodplains, slow-flowing rivers, and ponds. It prefers shallow waters that allow it to hunt while walking. Although it needs water, it can be found in open savannas and semi-arid areas, provided a water source is nearby.
Distribution Map
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The Saddle-billed Stork forms lifelong monogamous pairs that are also faithful to their nesting site. The breeding season often coincides with the dry season, when water levels drop and concentrate prey.
The pair builds a huge stick nest, up to 2 meters in diameter, usually at the top of a tall, isolated tree, often near water. The female lays between 2 and 3 white eggs. Incubation lasts 30 to 35 days and is carried out by both parents.
The chicks are fed by regurgitation. The parents also bring them water to drink and cool them down. The young remain in the nest for about 100 days before they can fly but stay dependent on their parents for several more months.
Unique Adaptations of the Saddle-billed Stork
Its morphology is perfectly adapted to its lifestyle as a wetland predator:
Massive and precise bill: Its large, long, and robust bill is a versatile tool that allows it to pierce fish, probe mud, and handle large prey.
Long legs: Its endless legs allow it to wade into relatively deep water, giving it access to hunting areas unavailable to other waders.
Keen eyesight: Vision is essential for spotting motionless or camouflaged prey in the water.
Ocular dimorphism: The difference in eye color between males and females, which is rare in birds, is a unique adaptation whose exact function is still debated but likely aids in partner recognition.
Conservation Status
The Saddle-billed Stork is listed as "Least Concern" (LC) on the IUCN Red List, as its population is large and spread over a wide geographic area.
However, local populations are threatened by the degradation and loss of their habitat. The drainage of wetlands for agriculture, dam construction, water pollution, and the use of pesticides are the main threats to the species. The protection of major river basins and wetlands is therefore essential for its long-term survival.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Saddle-billed Stork
How do you tell a male Saddle-billed Stork from a female?
The most reliable way to distinguish them is by their eye color: the male has dark brown eyes, while the female has golden-yellow eyes. The male is also slightly larger and has two small yellow wattles at the base of his bill, which the female lacks.
Is the Saddle-billed Stork a type of crane?
No, the Saddle-billed Stork is a very large species of stork belonging to the Ciconiidae family. Along with the Marabou Stork, it is one of the tallest storks in the world.
Where can you see the Saddle-billed Stork?
The Saddle-billed Stork lives in the wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa, such as marshes, lakes, flooded savannas, and riverbanks. It is a sedentary bird that prefers shallow waters for hunting.
What does the Saddle-billed Stork eat?
Its diet consists mainly of fish, but it also consumes frogs, crustaceans, reptiles, insects, and small mammals, which it catches with its large bill by probing the water and mud.
