Escudo de la República de Colombia Escudo de la República de Colombia
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✎ Juan Pablo Rodríguez Malaver

✎ Juan Pablo Rodríguez Malaver

✎ Camilo Alméciga

Jabiru
Jabiru mycteriaOrinoquia region

  • Generalities
  • Morpho-functionality
  • Lifecycle
  • Distribution

RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Jabiru
Jabiru mycteria

It is one of the largest water birds in the New World. Its name comes from the Guaraní and means Big Bird. They have the ability to inflate the air sacs in theis neck making it look even bigger. They have only one partner in their life (monogamous), without singing, they communicate with clicks of the beak. They inhabit shallow swamps, grasslands, rivers, flooded savannas, or forests near wetlands.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Evaluated

Data Deficient

Morpho-functionality

Beak

Their massive beak is used to generate a rattle with which they communicate during courtship.

Head

Its featherless head and neck prevents its neck from remaining wet and from harmful microorganisms growing on its plumage.

Legs

They can sleep standing generally on one leg by using a locking mechanism in the joints of their legs without the animal having to strain to remain standing.

Lifecycle

The breeding season begins in the transition from the wet to the dry period (October-March). In February they lay two to five eggs, the chicks have white plumage but when they are more developed the feathers of their wings turn gray and they lose their neck plumage. The parents take turns caring for the chicks so they can go hunting. For the next two months, the chicks remain long periods in the nest waiting for the parents to provide them with food. With the beginning of the rainy season the young leave the nest, but the parents remain with the juveniles in the bodies of water and continue to provide them with food.

Jabiru

Distribution

It is one of the three species of storks of the Neotropics, it is highly dependent on wetlands to fulfill its life cycle. It is distributed from southeastern Mexico to northeastern Costa Rica and from Colombia to Argentina. In Colombia it can be found in the Cauca River Valley and the lower and middle part of the Magdalena River Valley.

Distribution area