Hamerkop
Scopus umbretta J. F. Gmelin, 1789
The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), also called the Hammerkop, is a bird in the family Scopidae and the order Pelecaniformes. It is a small, terrestrial wetland bird with an adult body mass of 472 g, classed as an omnivore with a carnivore trophic level.
Quick facts about the hamerkop
The hamerkop lays 1 clutch per year of 4.4 eggs, which are incubated for 30 days. It is partially migratory, has a geographic range of 19,880,000 km², and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 423 g – 472 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.2 – 4.4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the hamerkop
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the hamerkop live?
Not recorded
What is the hamerkop?
The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), also called the umbrette, is a medium-sized water bird with brown plumage. It is found in mainland Africa, Madagascar and Arabia, living in a wide variety of wetlands, including estuaries, lakesides, fish ponds, riverbanks, and rocky coasts. The shape of its head, with its long bill and crest at the back, gives this species its name, hamerkop being the Afrikaans word for hammerhead. Long considered to sit with the Ciconiiformes, the species and its family is now placed with the Pelecaniformes, its closest relatives thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill. It is the only living species in the genus Scopus and the family Scopidae.
The hamerkop is a sedentary bird that often shows local movements. Usually hunting in shallow water, either by sight or touch, it feeds mostly on fish and amphibians; however, the species is adaptable and will take any prey it can. The species is renowned for its enormous nests, several of which it builds during the breeding season. Unusually for a wading bird, the species constructs its nest with an internal nesting chamber where the eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs and raise the chicks.
The species is not globally threatened and is locally abundant in mainland Africa and Madagascar. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.
From the Wikipedia article “Hamerkop” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hamerkop&oldid=1382223269), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the hamerkop endangered?
The hamerkop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the hamerkop classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyScopidae
- genusScopus
- SpeciesScopus umbretta J. F. Gmelin, 1789
Synonyms Scopus umbretta bannermanni
Other names and names in other languages (45)
- HammerkopEnglish
- رأس المطرقةArabic
- طائر اللقلق مطرقي الرأسArabic
- Чукоглава чаплаBulgarian
- ocell martellCatalan
- kladivouš africkýCzech
- pen morthwylWelsh
- HammerhovedDanish
- HammerkopfGerman
- SchattenvogelGerman
- afrika skopoEsperanto
- AvemartilloSpanish
- vasarpeaEstonian
- vasarapäähaikaraFinnish
- OmbretteFrench
- Ombrette africaineFrench
- Ombrette d'AfriqueFrench
- Ceann casúirIrish
- פטישןHebrew
- batoglavkaCroatian
- gogóHungarian
- UmbrettaItalian
- シュモクドリJapanese
- kūjagalvisLithuanian
- āmurgalvisLatvian
- TakatraMalagasy
- LokanontaMalagasy
- skyggefuglNorwegian
- warugaPolish
- pássaro-marteloPortuguese
- cabeça-de-marteloPortuguese
- МолотоглавRussian
- Молотоголовая цапляRussian
- Теневая птицаRussian
- takatra tmaváSlovak
- Čaplja batoglavkaSerbian
- skuggstorkSwedish
- นกหัวค้อนThai
- ÇekiçkafaTurkish
- Çekiçkafa (Hamerkop)Turkish
- mMamasiloanokaTswana
- mMamasilanokaTswana
- молотоголовUkrainian
- 錘頭鸛Chinese
- 锤头鹳Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the hamerkop
Other species in the same genus Scopus.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a hamerkop?
The hamerkop is a bird in the family Scopidae, within the order Pelecaniformes.
How heavy is a hamerkop?
An adult Hamerkop has a body mass of 472 g, which places it in the small size class (10 g to 1 kg).
What does a hamerkop eat?
The hamerkop is classed as an omnivore, with a trophic level of carnivore.
What habitat does the hamerkop live in?
The hamerkop lives in wetland habitat and has a terrestrial lifestyle.
How many eggs does a hamerkop lay?
The hamerkop lays 4.4 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 30 days.
Is the hamerkop endangered?
No. The hamerkop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
Does the hamerkop migrate?
The hamerkop is partially migratory.
Who named the hamerkop?
The hamerkop, Scopus umbretta, was named by J. F. Gmelin, 1789.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hamerkop
“Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hamerkop.
@misc{hamerkop_2026,
title = {Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hamerkop},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}