Counting on Africa
Educational Childrens Books Publisher
Hamerkop
Meet the hamerkop, a most unusual and clever bird whose name means "hammerhead"! If you look at its profile, you'll see why... It has a long, backwards-pointing crest on its head that, along with its stout beak, looks just like a hammer.
But this brown-feathered bird is a master builder, not a carpenter! Using thousands of sticks, mud, and grass, a pair of hamerkops will work for months to build one of the biggest nests of any bird in the world... a giant, strong fortress that's so sturdy, it can even hold the weight of a person! The nest has a cozy inner chamber, hidden through a secret muddy tunnel, to keep its eggs and chicks safe from harm.
DID YOU KNOW?
Prime Real Estate
Other birds like owls, geese, and even snakes often move into a hamerkop's huge nest after the builders have moved out, turning the old nest into a brand-new apartment building!
Lightning Bird
In many African cultures, the hamerkop is a bird surrounded by stories and superstition, and some people believe it brings good or bad luck, which is why it's sometimes called the "lightning bird."
Silent Assassin
The hamerkop is a very skilled hunter. It walks slowly through shallow water, and when it spots a frog or a tiny fish, it stamps its feet to stir up prey before snapping it up with its sharp bill!
Their name means "hammer head".
They are related to an ancient lineage of Old World Birds
They build a nest big enough to support a humans weight!
Their name means "hammer head".
Find out more about the Hamerkop
