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A brown hamerkop with a hammer-shaped head perched on a dead tree stump.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hamerkop

Scopus umbretta

A brown African wading bird with a hammer-shaped head that builds the biggest nest of any bird in Africa.

🪿 Wading Birds
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About the Hamerkop

Hamerkops live near lakes, rivers, marshes and ponds in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. A long, flat crest on the back of the head makes the head look like a hammer. Hamerkops wade in shallow water to hunt frogs and fish, and sometimes glide low over the water and dip down to grab a fish.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Scopus umbretta[1]
Size
About 22 inches (56 cm) long.[1]
Weight
About 14.5 to 15 ounces (415 to 430 g).[1]
Lifespan
About 10 to 20 years.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Mostly frogs and fish.[1]
Habitat
Lakes, rivers, marshes and seasonal ponds, often in savannas and woodlands.[1]
Where it lives
Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.[1]
Babies
3 to 7 eggs, incubated for about 30 days. Chicks fly at about 50 days.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]

Fun facts

  • Hamerkops build the biggest nests of any bird in Africa.[1]
  • A hamerkop nest can contain as many as 8,000 items and weigh over 50 pounds.[1]
  • No matter how big the nest is, it has only one small entrance hole.[1]
  • A hamerkop's long, flat crest makes its head look like a hammer.[1]

Vocabulary

wade
To walk through shallow water.
crest
A tuft of feathers on top or at the back of a bird's head.
sub-Saharan Africa
The part of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
incubate
To keep eggs warm so the babies inside can grow and hatch.
fledge
When a young bird grows its flight feathers and is ready to fly.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] The Maryland Zoo. “Hamerkop.” https://www.marylandzoo.org/animal/hamerkop/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Scopus umbretta (Hamerkop).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697356/93610351 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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