The sexes of these species are similarly plumaged, but the eyes are dark brown in males and yellow in females.

The members of this genus are sometimes called "jabirus", but this properly refers to a close relative from Latin America.

Like most storks, they fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron; in flight, they present a strange shape, with the head and large bill somewhat drooping down.

Ephippiorhynchus storks, like most of their relatives, feeds mainly on fish, frogs and crabs, but also on young birds, and other land vertebrates.

A prehistoric relative, Ephippiorhynchus pakistanensis, has been described from Late Miocene fossils found in Pakistan.