Jabiru

{{Short description|Genus of stork}} {{About|the bird ''Jabiru mycteria'' from the Americas}} {{Speciesbox | italic_title = no | name = Jabiru | image = 002 Jabiru feeding its babies in their nest in Encontro das Águas State Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg | image_caption = Jabiru feeding its chicks in the Pantanal, Brazil | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2021 |title=''Jabiru mycteria'' |article-number=e.T22697710A163624043 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22697710A163624043.en |access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A1 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Jabiru | parent_authority = Hellmayr, 1906 | species = mycteria | authority = (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1819) | range_map = Jabiru mycteria map.svg }}

The '''jabiru''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|dʒ|æ|b|ᵻ|ˈ|r|uː|}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|æ|b|ᵻ|r|uː|}}; '''''Jabiru mycteria''''') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has also been reported in Mississippi, Oklahoma and Louisiana.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHa6tJNKGDAC&pg=PA72 |page=72 |title=A Guide to the Birds of Colombia |author1=Steven L. Hilty |author2=William L. Brown |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1986|isbn=978-0-691-08372-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWOYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |page=211 |title=Rare Birds of North America |author1=Steve N. G. Howell |author2=Ian Lewington |author3=Will Russell |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014|isbn=978-0-691-11796-6 }}</ref> It is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus '''''Jabiru'''''. The name comes from the Tupi–Guaraní language and means "swollen neck".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d2EpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |title=Wildlife of the World |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Ltd |year=2015 |page=103|isbn=978-0-241-24714-3 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy== Hinrich Lichtenstein described the jabiru in 1819. The name ''jabiru'' has also been used for two other birds of a distinct genus: black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus''), commonly called "jabiru" in Australia; and sometimes also for the saddle-billed stork (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'') of Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, Gardiner's Egyptian hieroglyph G29, believed to depict an ''E. senegalensis'', is sometimes labeled "jabiru" in hieroglyph lists. The ''Ephippiorhynchus'' is believed to be the jabiru's closest living cousin, indicating an Old World origin for the species.<ref name= Hancock>Hancock & Kushan, ''Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World''. Princeton University Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0-12-322730-0}}</ref>

The proposed Late Pleistocene fossil stork genus ''Prociconia'' from Brazil might actually belong in ''Jabiru''. A fossil species of jabiru was found in the early Pliocene Codore Formation near Urumaco, Venezuela, and named ''Jabiru codorensis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Walsh |first1=S. A. |last2=Sánchez |first2=R. |year=2008 |title=The first Cenozoic fossil bird from Venezuela |journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=105–112 |doi=10.1007/bf02988402|bibcode=2008PalZ...82..105W |s2cid=129314392 }} </ref>

In Brazil, this species is called ''tuiuiu'', ''tuim-de-papo-vermelho'' ("red-necked ''tuim''", in Mato Grosso) and ''cauauá'' (in the Amazon Basin). The name ''jabiru'' is used for the wood stork (''Mycteria americana'').

==Description== The jabiru is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America, often standing nearly the same height as the flightless and thus much heavier greater rhea. For the continent, it also has the second largest wingspan, after the Andean condor (that is, excluding the great albatross occasionally found off the coast of southern South America).<ref name= Hancock/> The adult jabiru is {{convert|120|–|140|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2.3|–|2.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} across the wings, and can weigh {{convert|4.3|-|9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name= Hancock/> Sexual dimorphism is high, possibly the highest of any stork, with males being about 25% larger than females. Males weigh an average of {{convert|6.89|kg|lb|abbr=on}} whereas females weigh an average of {{convert|5.22|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), {{ISBN|978-1-4200-6444-5}}.</ref> Large males may stand as tall as {{convert|1.53|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The beak, which measures {{convert|25|-|35|cm|in|abbr=on}}, is black and broad, slightly upturned, ending in a sharp point. Among other standard measurements, the tail measures {{convert|20|-|25|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the tarsus measures {{convert|28.5|-|39|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and the wing chord measures {{convert|58.5|-|73|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name= Hancock/> The plumage is mostly white, but the head and upper neck are featherless and black, with a featherless red stretchable patch at the base.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrumDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |page=38 |title=Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Edition |author=Thomas S. Schulenberg |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2010|isbn=978-0-691-13023-1 }}</ref> The sexes are similar in appearance but the male is larger, which can be noticeable when the sexes are together. While it can give the impression of being an ungainly bird on the ground, the jabiru is a powerful and graceful flier.

==Life history==

===Food and feeding habits=== The jabiru lives in large groups near rivers and ponds and eats prodigious quantities of frogs, fish, snakes, snails, insects, and other invertebrates.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kahl |first1=M. P. |title=Observations on the Jabiru and Maguari storks in Argentina, 1969 |journal=The Condor |date=1971 |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=220–229 |doi=10.2307/1365842 |jstor=1365842 }}</ref> It will even eat fresh carrion and dead fish, such as those that die during dry spells, and thus help maintain the quality of isolated bodies of water. They feed in flocks and usually forage by wading in shallow water. Jabirus detect prey more through tactile sensation than vision. They feed by holding their open bill at a 45-degree angle to the water. When prey is contacted, the storks close their bill, draw it out of the water, and throw their head back to swallow.<ref name= ADW>[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Jabiru_mycteria.html ADW- Jabiru mycteria- Information] (2011).</ref> Fish around {{convert|8|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} are typically taken, though larger fish weighing up to at least {{convert|500|g|lb|abbr=on}} and eels up to {{convert|80|cm|in|abbr=on}} can be taken.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Betsy Trent |title=Coexistence and behavior differences among the three western hemisphere storks |journal=Ornithological Monographs |date=1985 |issue=36 |pages=921–931 |doi=10.2307/40168325 |jstor=40168325 }}</ref><ref>Del Hoyo, Josep, et al. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 1. No. 8. Barcelona: Lynx edicions, 1992.</ref> It is an opportunistic feeder. In one instance, when house mice experienced a population explosion in an agricultural area, several hundred jabirus could be seen in each field feeding on the rodents (unusual for a bird that's rarely seen in large numbers anywhere).<ref name= Hancock/> On rare occasions, jabirus have been seen attempting to kleptoparasitize the two smaller storks it co-exists with, the wood and maguari storks.<ref name= Hancock/>

===Breeding=== thumbnail|Jabiru with chicks at the nest Jabirus are solitary nesters, building massive nest platforms that are used repeatedly in successive seasons. Unlike many other storks, these species are often seen in pairs in the nonbreeding season, suggesting a lifelong pair bond.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kahl |first1=M. P. |title=Comparative ethology of the Ciconiidae. Part 6. The blacknecked, saddlebill, and jabiru storks (genera ''Xenorhynchus'', ''Ephippiorhynchus'', and ''Jabiru'') |journal=The Condor |date=1973 |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=17–27 |doi=10.2307/1366532 |jstor=1366532 }}</ref> The nest of sticks is built by both parents around August–September (in the Southern Hemisphere) on tall trees, and enlarged at each succeeding season, growing to several meters in diameter. Nests are often deeper than they are wide; they can be up to {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|1.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep.<ref name= ADW/> Half a dozen nests may be built in close proximity, sometimes among nests of herons and other birds. The parents take turns incubating the clutch of two to five white eggs and are known to be more territorial than usual against other jabirus during the breeding period. Raccoons and other storks (including their own species) are occasional predators of jabiru eggs, but most nest predators appear to avoid these huge-billed birds and there are no known predators of healthy adult jabirus.<ref name= ADW/> Although the young fledge around 110 days old, they often spend around another 3 months in the care of their parents. Because of this long length of time spent brooding, pairs have difficulty breeding in successive years. Less than half of active pairs in one season are active the next season. Only 25% of successful pairs are successful the next season. The lifespan average is 36 years.<ref name= ADW/> The Jabiru has a diploid number of 2n = 56.<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 31542782|year = 2019|author1 = Seligmann ICA|last2 = Furo|first2 = I. O.|last3 = Dos Santos|first3 = M. S.|last4 = Tagliarini|first4 = M. M.|author5 = Araujo CCD|author6 = O'Brien PCM|last7 = Ferguson-Smith|first7 = M. A.|author8 = de Oliveira EHC|title = Comparative Chromosome Painting in Two Brazilian Stork Species with Different Diploid Numbers|journal = Cytogenetic and Genome Research|volume = 159|issue = 1|pages = 32–38|doi = 10.1159/000503019|s2cid = 202731184}}</ref>

==Conservation== Jabirus are widespread but not abundant in any area. They are considered a species of least concern by the IUCN, an improvement from a status of near threatened in 1988.<ref name=IUCN/> Jabiru gained protected status in Belize in 1973. Since then, their numbers in that area have slowly risen. They have been granted protected status by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.<ref name= ADW/>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="130"> File:033 Jabiru taking off in Encontro das Águas State Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|Jabiru taking off in the Pantanal, Brazil File:178 Jabiru in flight in Encontro das Águas State Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|Jabiru in flight in the Pantanal, Brazil File:049 Jabiru chick in its nest in Encontro das Águas State Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|Jabiru chick in the Pantanal, Brazil File:Jabirus (Jabiru mycteria) on nest.JPG|Pair on nest, in the Pantanal, Brazil File:Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) in flight.JPG|In flight over the Pantanal, Brazil File:Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) 2.JPG|In the Pantanal, Brazil </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Jabiru mycteria}} *{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Jabiru |volume=15 |short=x}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170912060131/http://audiovisuales.uned.ac.cr/mediateca/videos/721/jabir%C3%BA,-gal%C3%A1n-sin-ventura Jabiru Video Documentary] * Saúde Animal: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040404100407/http://www.saudeanimal.com.br/jaburu.htm Jaburu ou tuiuiú: Espécie animal brasileiro ameaçado de extinção] [in Portuguese]. Retrieved 6 December 2006. *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20001020042727/http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/2201600.htm Stamps]}} (for nine countries) with a range map * {{VIREO|Jabiru}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071030100907/http://borderland-tours.com/v2/images/stories/borderland/gallery_photos/argentina/jabiru.jpg Photo-High Res]; [https://web.archive.org/web/20070922174822/http://borderland-tours.com/v2/content/view/55/77/ Article] borderland-tours

{{Storks}} {{Ciconiiformes|C.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q3157022 |from2=Q17970}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Ciconiidae Category:Birds of Nicaragua Category:Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Category:Birds of South America Category:Birds of Venezuela Category:Birds of the Guiana Shield Category:Birds of the Pantanal Category:Birds of Paraguay Category:Birds of the Caribbean Category:Birds described in 1819 Category:Taxa named by Hinrich Lichtenstein Category:Symbols of Mato Grosso