Jabiru

On our flight to Belize on March 15, 2026 I had my "Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America," by Jesse Fagan & Oliver Komar and I went through it, page by page, reviewing the birds and occasionally reading what it said about some of them. I was intrigued by the jabiru, a large white stork with a black head, a long black bill, and a red neck. I'd never heard of it before. A range map showed it was resident year round in portions of Belize and the text indicated it was "rare to uncommon on [the] Caribbean slope". I thought I would really like to see that bird. 

On Wednesday, March 18, we left Caye Caulker by water taxi to Belize City on the coast, and were picked up by Rene, our guide for the day, who was going to take us to Xunantunich, a Mayan ruin in western Belize near the border with Guatemala. I told him I was interested in birds and asked if we might see some at Xunantunich. He said yes, then said, if you are interested, we might be able to see a jabiru on the drive there. I immediately knew what he was talking about and said, "yes, I would love to see one." He said there were some swampy areas along the road and that he often sees jabirus driving through there. 

Some time later he stopped on the side of the road and pointed to a large bird far out to our left. He opened the door of the van we were in and we stepped to the back of the vehicle, on the side of the road. I took a couple of quick pictures, in case the bird flew when we crossed the road. 

As a large truck passed, we stepped across the road and the jabiru started to fly. I started to take photos of it as it did so. 

What an amazing bird. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of it flying from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. Note that where we were in Belize is about the furthest north the jabiru is found. It is found just a bit further north in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.