Storks Or Spoonbills?

Which should I get for an African themed aviary?

  • Yellow Billed Storks (Mycteria ibis)

    Votes: 13 59.1%

  • African Spoonbills (Platalea alba)

    Votes: 9 40.9%
  • Total voters
    22
Sarus Crane

Sarus Crane

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I'm currently planning a African themed Aviary for my future backyard and am having a hard time choosing either 3.3 Yellow Billed Storks (Mycteria ibis) or 3.3 African Spoonbills (Platalea alba). I really like both, but due to expenses I think could only afford one species to go along with the other species I have planned like Hadada Ibises, Red-Billed Teals, Fulvous Whistling Ducks etc.... Here are the my opinions of pros and cons for each species:

Yellow Billed Stork (Mycteria ibis)
Yellow Billed Stork

Yellow Billed Stork

Yellow Billed Stork resting in the River Valley Aviary.
Pros:
1. Large (3.5 ft tall)
2. Nice contrast in white feathers with red legs and face (with pink on coverts appearing during breeding season).
3. Looks super cute due to their large all black appearing eyes.
4. Can be mixed with various waterfowl and other birds.
5. Easy to breed in captivity and interesting courtship displays to watch.
6. Can live to be 34 years in captivity.

Cons:
1. Rarely vocal.
2. Not as colorful as its relative the Painted Stork.

African Spoonbill (Platalea alba)
River Valley Aviary African Spoonbill

River Valley Aviary African Spoonbill

A really big African Spoonbill. Taken on 12-30-18.
Pros:
1. Large (3 ft tall)
2. Nice look with all white plumage with red face and legs and crest
3. Spoonbills are awesome.
4. Very vocal.
5. Can be mixed with various waterfowl and other birds.

Cons:
1. Not quite as large as the Yellow Billed Stork.
2. Outside of breeding season its red skin color reduces to a dull pink.
3. Doesn't live as long with 29 years being recorded as the maximum in captivity.
 
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birdsandbats said:
I assume you mean White-Faced?

I personally think spoonbills are cooler, but it would be nice to know what other birds you plan to keep there. Anything besides birds?
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This is a bit high in the sky, but I'd like to have my own African version of a "farm" per say..... I'd have African wildlife that would complement their domestic counterparts:
1.2 Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) - Horse [Gonna train them from a young age to be ridden]
1.2 African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) - Cattle
1.3 Common Reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) - Sheep & 1.1 Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum) - Turkeys
1.2 Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) - Swine
1.9 Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) - Chickens
1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback (Canis domesticus) - Dog
African Aviary (various species) - Why Not?

For the Asian version of this idea, that deserves a different thread. :)
 
I'm genuinely curious, where would you be planning to get these birds from? Both Yellow Bills and African Spoonbills are virtually non-existent in private hands, and Africa is closed up for exports indefinitely, which rules out imported birds.

Also FWIW, both. The African Spoonbills I've worked around were very nice birds, inoffensive and largely kept to themselves. I've never personally worked with Mycteria storks, however I know they do very well in mixed exhibits. It would only make sense to house both if you were able to pull them out of some magic hat.
 
Yellow billed storks actively predate young ducklings and chicks of smaller birds species kept mixed with them, especially during peak breeding season when storks feed their own chicks. (They have no problem to decimate 20 Guineafowl chicks in one night despite parents protecting them frantically.)

Spoonbills is better choice.
 
Jana said:
Yellow billed storks actively predate young ducklings and chicks of smaller birds species kept mixed with them, especially during peak breeding season when storks feed their own chicks. (They have no problem to decimate 20 Guineafowl chicks in one night despite parents protecting them frantically.)

Spoonbills is better choice.
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I'm not convinced Spoonbills wouldn't do the same.
 
Jana said:
Yellow billed storks actively predate young ducklings and chicks of smaller birds species kept mixed with them, especially during peak breeding season when storks feed their own chicks. (They have no problem to decimate 20 Guineafowl chicks in one night despite parents protecting them frantically.)

Spoonbills is better choice.
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I'm gonna to be keeping the guineafowl separate so I won't have to worry and as for the duck's I've kinda personally seen this. I plan on not having too many ducks. Skip to 3:26 in the vid:
 
Hyak_II said:
I'm genuinely curious, where would you be planning to get these birds from? Both Yellow Bills and African Spoonbills are virtually non-existent in private hands, and Africa is closed up for exports indefinitely, which rules out imported birds.

Also FWIW, both. The African Spoonbills I've worked around were very nice birds, inoffensive and largely kept to themselves. I've never personally worked with Mycteria storks, however I know they do very well in mixed exhibits. It would only make sense to house both if you were able to pull them out of some magic hat.
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Not gonna lie.... It'd be great to have both, but I'm biased towards Yellow Bills at the moment because they're storks and have that adorable face..... those big goo goo eyes!!!! Makes me wanna give em' a giant gentle hug (if I could) every time I see them!

For obtaining them, I see there's people overseas who have them because in an Aviornis video there is a pair that can be seen in the background so I'm assuming they are in aviculture. Also what about how zoos still import birds sometimes and how they say that they imported birds from Africa specifically Tanzania or South Africa? I think zoos are even still importing Shoebills for $10k+. I need to go to Aviornis someday. It looks AMAZING!!!

African Spoonbills at Aviornis:

Yellow billed Storks at Aviornis (skip to 0:51):
 
@Daktari JG @Sarus Crane

For specifically birds, Africa has closed up its exports just in the past few months. There is still a small trickle of birds coming in that were already at the export stations, or birds that are "captive bred", but for wild caught birds (virtually all of their exports) the entire continent is now closed, sadly. Certain countries have opened and closed in the past, but AFAIK the whole place is closed up now. No knowing when it might open again, could be later this year, could be 10 years, could be never.

This ban is very frustrating, especially for certain groups of birds. I've been struggling to find long tailed hornbill and allens gallinule to pair up some single birds, but importers don't have any and no one is having any success breeding right now.

Of course for zoo's and other specific scenario's exports are still on the table, however that is on a whole different level from the private industry.

Also in terms of the birds in private breeding farms in Europe, those birds are very tricky to import for a private individual. You can't do it personally, you would have to find an individual in the US with an import station who is willing to import and quarantine them for you (which, as a general rule, they won't do unless you offer them LOTS of money). Other option is to import them to Canada (a little bit easier), and from there import them to the US. Still very tricky to do, and you need to once again hire importers, which can be difficult. All this of course, hinges on the premise the breeding farms will release birds to you. Easier said than done at times ;)

EDIT: For shoebills, the last birds were imported into the US around 10 years ago. Only new addition since then was the one bred at Lowry Park. Shoebills are CITES listed, and as such import is almost impossible for anyone other than a zoo. US has stupid laws about importing CITES birds.
 
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