Last week I gave you this guest mystery object from Andy Taylor FLS (and now) FBNA to identify:

It wasn’t a particularly difficult one, since that huge bill immediately narrows down the possibilities.

The spear-like bill shape is reminiscent of a heron’s, but it’s heavier – not quite as massive as something like a Marabou Stork, Adjutant, or Jabiru, but heavy nonetheless.

As Adam Yates noted, this is the skull of a White Stork Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) – the second mystery object in a row with the initials C. c. (the previous one being Crocuta crocuta).

When attempting to identify bird skulls, a hugely useful resource for reference is Skullsite, which is run by regular commentor on the blog, Wouter van Gestel – who referenced the White Stork with a comment relating to their reputation for the delivery of babies.

So well done to everyone who worked out the species, here and on Mastodon, Bluesky and LinkedIn – and my thanks to Andy for sharing another gem from his collection!