![]() ![]() These threatened cranes are common in wetlands and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia to South Africa. They are also the tallest flying birds native to Africa, reaching 5 ft 9 inches in height. Wattled cranes are the largest crane species in Africa and the second tallest crane species in the world, after the sarus crane. Wattled Crane Wattled Crane | Source: Trisha M Shears, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Greater flamingos can live extremely long lives (30-40 years in the wild) – the oldest reached 83 years of age in the Adelaide Zoo in Australia! 4. Greater flamingos have pinkish-white plumage, red wing coverts, and black secondary flight feathers – in the air, they keep their necks and legs extended.įound in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salty water, they will stir the mud with their feet and then grab shrimp, algae, seeds, and mollusks with their bills. These huge birds with long necks, large bills, and enormous pink legs, can reach 74 inches in height and almost 10 pounds in weight. Although first considered to be the same species as the American flamingo, due to color differences, the two are now separate species. Greater flamingos are the largest species of flamingo found in Africa, India, the Middle East, and southern Europe. ![]() Verreaux’s eagle-owls have the deepest call of any extant owl species and one of the deepest bird calls in the world. If their stunning sizes don’t impress you, their voice certainly will. They are avian apex predators that have no natural enemies these nocturnal raptors feed on medium-sized mammals, birds, and insects. Verreaux’s eagle-owls are unique in the aviary world due to their pink eyelids, which appear one week after hatching. Named after the 19th-century French naturalist Jules Verreaux, the species are widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in savannas with scattered trees and thorny vegetation. Females are larger than males and in some cases almost 35% heavier. These enormous grayish owls with dark facial stripes measure up to 26 inches long, weigh up to 6.9 pounds, and span up to 5 ft 5 inches across the wings. ![]() Verreaux’s eagle-owls, also known as giant eagle owls, are the largest owl species in Africa and the world’s largest owls found in the tropics. Some estimates claim a population ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 individuals. Illegal trading, high demand, and extremely rare breeding in captivity have placed these fascinating birds on a list of endangered species. People in the 1840s described a shoebill as “… an extraordinary bird, as big as a big camel, with a bill like a pelican’s, though wanting a pouch.“ They might also emit clattering sounds that people describe as a machine gun being fired. They are common around freshwater swamps and marshes of East Africa, in Uganda, Sudan, the eastern DR Congo, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Botswana, and Tanzania. Some might even have exotic pale blue eyes that are quite mesmerizing to stare into. Shoebills are blue-gray and have darker slaty-gray flight feathers. People often call them “whaleheads” due to their oversized shoe-shaped beaks. Shoebills’ most prominent feature, besides their enormous size, is the huge beak that ranges from 7.4 to 9.4 in, making it the third-longest, after pelicans’ and large storks’. They can grow to a height of 5 feet, a length of almost 4.6 feet, have a wingspan of 8.5 feet, and weigh as much as 15.4 pounds. Shoebills are the largest blue birds in the world. ![]()
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