Spring has Sprung

To celebrate Spring, here is a Saddlebill Stork from Tanzania, our only favorite safari. I just bought an exotic looking flower at the nursery that reminded me of the  exotic wildlife we saw in Africa.  The colors, shapes and sizes are always amazing.  Spring is a busy time of mothers taking care of their babies.  I just found out I will be teaching young children again which I am very excited about.  Here is more information on this beautiful bird.  I got it from the San Diego Zoo's children's site.

Area: 

Africa

Habitat: 

marshes, edges of rivers, and lakes

Food: 

fish, crabs, large water beetles and other insects, frogs, reptiles and small mammals

Size: 

Up to 5 feet tall; wingspan about 8 feet

Babies: 

Fuzzy white chicks are fed by their parents for about 3 months

You can tell the sex of a saddlebill stork by looking at its eyes: females' are yellow, males' are brown.