Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the hamerkop. I think it's pronounced something like hamerkop but I realize I'm probably saying it incorrectly due to my accent. They're also known as hammerheads and this is due to their head shape! Hammerhead birds have a crest of three inch (7.6cm) long feathers along the back of their head giving their profile the appearance of a hammer. Originally, these birds were classified as storks, but today it's believed they're more appropriately classified in the same family as pelicans and shoebills.

Hammerheads are water-loving birds found most frequently near rivers, ponds, lakes, coastlines, and pretty much anywhere else a source of water is available. They live throughout sub-Saharan Africa including the island of Madagascar as well as the south west Arabian Peninsula. These birds don't migrate instead remaining in the same place year-round; they're residents like northern cardinals!

Hammerheads utilize the waters they live near for foraging. They eat a wide variety of animals from fish to frogs as well as insects, crustaceans, and lizards. In size these birds are described as no bigger than a raven reaching just over a foot and a half in length (20 inches = 51 centimeters). In fact, they were once considered the smallest storks in Africa, though their change in classification modified this. Unlike true storks, hammerheads do not release their waste on their legs to cool off. They also roost in trees by squatting on tree branches instead of standing like a stork would.

Hammerhead birds are perhaps most well-known for their giant nests. Although they're relatively small animals, they construct nests capable of withstanding the weight of an average-sized human. Spanning an average of six feet (1.8 m) across, these enormous nests not only house the hammerhead's young but also the babies of many other species. Other birds like barn owls use the hammerhead's nest to raise their young. As many as twenty different species have been observed inside a hammerhead nest. What's more, both hammerhead parents take part in constructing the nest and they often build more than one per season before settling on their favorite.

There are anywhere from three to seven white eggs in a hammerhead clutch and these are incubated for approximately 30 days. The chicks remain in the nest for just under two months at which they take to the skies. These large nests provide shelter to the chicks and adults alike, however, some predators make their way inside. Hammerhead eggs and young are often taken by wandering snakes and monitor lizards. Many young hammerheads won't make it to their first year of life, but those that do reach adulthood can generally live one to two decades in the wild.

Hammerheads are often solitary or found in pairs, but when they do meet other hammerheads they dance, jig, and spin with each other in a fabulous display. In some parts of their range, hammerhead nests are free from human disturbance because local superstitions suggest destroying a hammerhead nest will bring about revenge in the form of a lightning strike to that person's home!

For more facts on the hammerhead, or hamerkop, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!