Monster Week—”Undertaker Bird”
Here is another monster for your collection.
September 11, 2015
The beauty, sweet songs, and other charms of birds have inspired poets, painters, and composers throughout the ages. However, few of these artists were likely inspired by the marabou, one of the largest members of the stork family. These birds, found throughout Africa, are not heavy on looks or charm. In fact, many people consider the marabou to be the ugliest of all birds. A Ugandan proverb states that “When God made all of the birds of the world, he took the leftover parts and made the marabou.”
The marabou stands up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall on long legs. The wings and upper body are slate-gray or black, and the underparts are white. The long head and neck of these birds is featherless and covered with mottled skin. Both male and female marabous have a long pouch of reddish skin hanging down from the neck. A marabou can inflate this pouch with air, which may help it attract other marabous as mates. The birds smell as bad as they look. This is partially because they are usually covered in gore from feasting on carcasses (dead bodies). Marabous also habitually spray their feces (solid bodily wastes) onto their own legs. Scientists do not know if this revolting cologne is used to raise their attractiveness to potential mates.
Marabous are often called “The undertaker bird” because with their naked head and dark feathers, they resemble a slim, bald undertaker in dark clothes laboring over a fresh corpse as they feed on large carrion (dead and decaying animal flesh) that makes up their diet. Marabous are often found, sometimes in great numbers, lurking around garbage dumps, slaughter houses, fish-cleaning stations, and any place where carcasses can be found. Other carrion-eaters, such as vultures, usually make way for the large, ill-tempered marabous which are known to occasionally attack other birds.
In spite of their gruesome reputation, marabous play a valuable role in the ecosystem. As scavengers, the birds help reduce diseases and clean up the environment by eating carcasses. In the past, the birds were economically important as well. Manufacturers once used the soft white underfeathers of marabous to make scarves and to trim hats and gowns.