L. crumenifer Skull Replica or Marabou Stork measures 14.1 inches. L. crumenifer Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Cast from California Academy of Sciences specimen.
The Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae native to sub-Saharan Africa.
L. crumenifer or Marabou stork breeds in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites.
The Marabou Stork breeds in colonies, starting during the dry season. The female lays two to three chalky white eggs in a small nest made of sticks.
Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after an incubation period of 30 days. Their young reach sexual maturity at 4 years of age. Lifespan is 43 years in captivity and 25 years in wild.
It is sometimes called the “undertaker bird” due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and back, skinny white legs, and sometimes a large white mass of “hair”.
The Marabou stork is a massive bird: large specimens are thought to reach a height of 4.99 feet and a weight of 20 lb. A wingspan of 12 ft. was accepted by Fisher and Peterson, who ranked the species as having the largest wing-spread of any living bird.
It is often credited with the largest spread of any landbird, to rival the Andean condor; more typically, however, these storks measure 7 to 9 ft. across the wings, which is about a foot less than the average Andean condor wingspan and nearly two feet less than the average of the largest albatrosses and pelicans.
Typical weight is 9.9 to 17.6 lb., unusually as low as 8.8 lb., and length (from bill to tail) is 47 to 51 in. Females are smaller than males.
Bill length can range from 4 to 13.8 in. Unlike most storks, the three Leptoptilos species fly with the neck retracted like a heron.
The L. crumenifer or Marabou stork is unmistakable due to its size, bare head and neck, black back, and white underparts. It has a huge bill, a pink gular sac at its throat, a neck ruff, and white legs and black wings.
The sexes are alike, but the young bird is browner and has a smaller bill. Full maturity is not reached for up to four years.
