Nov 10, 2026 |
Four hamerkops, rescued as chicks from a nest built on the roof of a house, are now flying free along the Umbeluzi River following an operation to return them to their natural habitat.
It all began at the end of August, when a veterinary team removed the nest from a residence at the request of the Canadian Embassy, according to the Mozambican NGO Mozambique Wildlife Alliance (MWA).
Inside the house were six chicks, in a nest their parents had built there. The young birds were then entrusted to Mozambican conservationist Madyo Couto, an MWA partner, for care and rehabilitation.
According to the MWA’s account, during a recent visit the four surviving birds were spotted together in the Belo Horizonte area, near the river, where they have remained and now share the habitat with local herons. They had been moved to a sheltered site in Boane, close to the Umbeluzi, and one of them took flight less than 20 minutes after arriving there.
Two of the six chicks eventually died. The others were hand-fed at first, then progressed to feeding themselves from a board placed in front of the nest box and, later, to hunting their own prey, a stage considered crucial to their independence.
The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is known for building large, elaborate, hollow nests out of sticks, usually in the fork of a tree. The species has an extremely wide distribution range and a population considered stable, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Photos: MWA
