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The African Openbill is a large wading bird found across sub-Saharan Africa, recognizable by its unusual bill that has a distinctive gap or opening between the upper and lower mandibles. This bird plays an ecological role in African wetlands and is an important part of the region's biodiversity.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Least ConcernAfrican openbill
Species
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderCiconiiformes
- FamilyCiconiidae
Observations: One animal was still alive after 7 years in captivity (Brouwer et al. 1992). Considering the longevity of similar species, however, maximum longevity is likely underestimated and more detailed studies necessary.
via IUCN
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species of stork from the family Ciconiidae. It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar. This species is considered common to locally abundant across its range, although it has a patchy distribution. Some experts consider there to be two sub-species, A. l. lamelligerus distributed on the continent and A. l. madagascariensis living on the island of Madagascar. Scientists distinguish between the two sub-species due to the more pronounced longitudinal ridges on the bills of adult A. l. madagascariensis. The Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) found in Asia is the African openbill's closest relative. The two species share the same notably large bill of a peculiar shape that gives them their name.
Description
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “African Openbill” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.