Painted Stork

Latin Name: 
Mycteria leucocephala
Category: 
Size: 
95cm
Description: 

Sexes alike. White plumage; blackish-green and white wings; blackish-green breast-band and black tail; rich rosy-pink wash on greater wing-coverts; large, slightly curved orangish-yellow bill. Young: pale dirty brown, the neck feathers edged darker; lacks breast-band. Common and gregarious; feeds with beak partly submerged, ready to grab prey; when not feeding, settles hunched up outside water; regularly soars high on thermals.

Habitat: 
inland marshes, jheels; occasionally riversides.
Food: 
fish, frogs, crustaceans
Distribution: 
resident and local migrant, from terai south through the area’s well-watered regions.
Call: 
Call Description: 
characteristic mandible clattering of storks; young in nest have grating begging calls.
National Status: