[6] The species does not exhibit any major sexual dimorphism, although the males are slightly larger than the females and have a longer and heavier bill.

The curve in the lower mandible allows the stork to have the perfect angle of attack to force its way under the operculum and release the molluscs from their shells.

The bill of the African openbill storks closely evolved with the bird’s specialized diet, allowing for the perfect handling of snails and other molluscs.

[7] Many of the social displays of the African openbill stork are accompanied by bill clatters as is common in most of the Ciconiidae species.

[2] This agility can be observed during their descents from high altitudes as they often perform steep dives and remarkable acrobatic manoeuvres.

[2] In flight, these birds have their necks and head extended and their long, broad wings are spread out and perfect for soaring and gliding on the air currents.

[6] The adult African openbill does not have many predators, although the species is preyed upon by the tawny eagle (Aquila rapax).

[8] Adult African openbills have dark shiny feathers on their wings and chest that serve in parade and other types of signaling between individuals of the species.

Instead, the feathers have a single ribbon-shaped body and a few long, fine stems that disperse laterally from the flat part of the ribbon.

Scientists believe the dark green appearance of these feathers to be due to the low reflectance levels of the melanin nodules.

[3] Two color-producing processes have been proposed to explain why these feathers have a green coloration: The African openbill stork is considered out of danger worldwide as it is abundant in various portions of its range.

[9] Although they are not currently threatened, they remain a large bird with low reproductive success meaning that human activities affecting their habitat could have a big impact on the species.

In different parts of their range, some individuals have been observed to eat terrestrial snails, frogs, crabs, fish, worms and large insects.

To forage for snails, the African openbill stands in shallow water, repeatedly dipping its beak in.

[7] When presented with them, the young African openbill would try to swallow them sideways or backwards as it is not instinctive to them how to consume those food items.

[2][7] When eating, the nestlings bring their wings over their head in an attempt to protect their food from being stolen by competing nest mates.

[2] In nestlings, the sides of the lower mandible are flexible, and the gular skin is loose and elastic which allows them to swallow large pieces of food relative to their size.

If a colony has found a successful foraging area, they often return to it and piles of snail shells can be seen accumulating on the shores.

Most of this procedure is done underwater or hidden in vegetation, therefore there is still a lot of unknowns surrounding how exactly the African Openbill removes the meat from the snail shells.

Once the attachment point broken, the stork uses the tip of its bill to grasp onto the snail’s body and shakes its head sideways to release the meat from the shell.

Since the African openbill can’t open the mussel by itself, it will usually gather them up in large piles on the shore and wait for the sun to kill them.

[2] The bird erects the feathers on its neck, breast and upper back, as well as the ones on its crown which gives the appearance of a square head.

As the dominant bird is approaching, the subordinate will turn away and take evasive steps moving either sideways or backwards.

During this display, the feathers of the head, neck, breast and upper back are strongly erect, the wings are held farther out from the sides and the nestlings makes high pitched screams and gobbling sounds as they try to grab at their opponent.

[10] The occurrence of the breeding season varies with distribution as the hatching of the nestling is timed to coincide with the emergence of snails.

[8] The African openbill builds a nest that is around 50 cm (20 in) wide,[6] which is relatively small for this medium-sized bird.

The nest consists of a thin platform of sticks and twigs, lined with leaves, grasses, sedges and other aquatic plants.

[6] Habitat loss, disturbances of feeding areas, pollution from pesticide used on mosquitoes and entanglement in fishing lines all pose potential threats to these birds.

[6][8] The African openbill does remain common in habitats suitable for them, but human activity could pose a danger to the species.

This method disproportionately affects the African openbill stork because they are a flocking species that lives year-round on the areas poisoned by the poachers.