The Bald Scavenger! - a photo on Flickriver

            Explored #17 2017-11-17

The Marabou Stork’s (Leptoptilos Crumeniferus) head is nearly bald and scab encrusted. This makes it cleaner for the marabou stork to eat carrion without getting its feathers blood soaked. A pendulous flesh-colored gular sac hangs below the throat when inflated and can be hidden in the white neck ruff when deflated. The marabou stork’s back and wings are dark slate-gray with some green iridescence on the wings and pale blue iridescence on the back. The feathers of the neck ruff, chest, and belly are white.
These birds also have some unattractive habits. They defecate all over their legs and feet, giving their appendages a lovely white appearance. This helps them regulate their body temperature. Marabou storks aren't particularly active; in fact, they are relatively lazy. They stand around much of the time and often pant excessively when they are hot.

This ugly Marabou Stork was photographed at the Athi Basin Dam in Nairobi National Park, Kenya.

Taken in: Kenya / Eastern / Athi River (show map)

Taken on: October 22, 2016

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Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, f/8.0, 1/320 sec, 600mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens:	EF600mm f/4L IS USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	600mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Macintosh)
Show full info

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