Species guide
Hamerkop: how to recognise it
A bird of Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Pavel Shukov · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Scopus umbretta
- Family
- Hamerkops
- Size
- About 50–56 cm
- Habitat
- Wetlands, rivers and lake shores
- Found in
- Africa and Asia
The key marks
A brown wading bird with a flat crest at the back of the head and a flat bill, making a hammer shape.
Voice
A high-pitched “yip” and frog-like croaks.
Good to know
It builds a huge domed nest of sticks, up to 1.5 m across, which owls, snakes and others often take over.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in wetlands, rivers and lake shores. It is especially common in Kenya. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.