The hamerkop has a curved beak and a head with a crest at the back which is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name. Another creative naming for a dull brown bird of Africa. Or is it that dull?
Remarkably this average sized brown bird has numerous myths, legends and local beliefs surrounding it. It seems to have taken far more than its fair share of mystical stories and sayings, making it rather an interesting sighting in the bush. However, most seem to be about your own death, death of your family, death of your neighbour or contracting some hideous disease.
The first legend that I heard was that if you ever looked into the water at the same time as a hamerkop, it would be the harbinger of death. I was not too sure whose death it would be, but it makes me think twice about looking into the water with a hamerkop in the vicinity. Other legends state that if a hamerkop flies over your house it apparently indicates that someone close to you has just recently died. It is also believed by the Malagasy that if you disturb a hamerkop's nest you will develop leprosy and the Kalahari bushmen believe that if you rob eggs from a hamerkop's nest you will be struck by lightening. All of which, in my mind is, is a bit of doom and gloom.
In some cultures it is also known as the 'lightning bird', a mystical bird which can take the form of a black-and-white bird, the size of the human, that can summon lightning and thunder with its wings and talons. The 'lightning bird' is said to have vampire qualities, having an insatiable appetite for blood, and is associated with witches and witch doctors. So not really a bird you'd like to mess with.
Despite all these weird and wonderful beliefs, I can't help but congratulate it on its own self-preservation. Wherever these beliefs have stemmed from we may never really know, but it certainly helps in the protection and preservation of the species.
Would you risk disturbing a hamerkop nest, with the very, very minor possibility of contracting leprosy?
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