General

Jabiru: Huge stork, one of the largest flying birds. Plumage is entirely white, head and neck are black and featherless with a red throat pouch. Female is smaller. Juvenile is brown to brown-gray and white.

Range and Habitat

Jabiru: Common in regions of Brazil and Paraguay. Spotted in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. Rare sightings in Texas and Oklahoma. Lives near rivers, ponds, and marshy areas.

Breeding and Nesting

Jabiru: Two to four white eggs are laid in a nest of sticks high in trees that is added to year after year. Incubation is carried out by both sexes.

Foraging and Feeding

Jabiru: Eats fish, eels, amphibians, small mammals, snakes and birds. Stalks prey and stabs it with bill.

Vocalization

Jabiru: Typically silent, sometimes utters low hiss.

Similar Species

Jabiru: Wood Stork is smaller, has black tail and flight feathers, lacks red throat pouch.