Eight species of large water birds with a long beak and a huge throat pouch, used to scoop up fish and drain out the water before swallowing. Their bills and pouches turn bright colours before the breeding season.
Quick answers
What is it?Bird
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
HabitatCoast, Rivers & lakes, Wetland
ColoursWhite, Grey, Brown
SizeLarge
Legs2
Covered inFeathers
Lives inflocks
Lives for15–25 years
Can fly
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Tropical to temperate waters on every continent except Antarctica; absent from inland Amazonia, polar regions and the open ocean.
- What it eats
- Mainly fish, caught at or near the surface.
Did you know
Its throat pouch scoops up fish, then drains the water out before it swallows.
After heavy rain, at least one species flies to temporary lakes in the desert of Australia’s Red Centre.
Often confused with
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