Painted stork

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Painted stork
Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) Bundala.jpg
Adult, Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconiidae
Genus: Mycteria
Species:
M. leucocephala
Binomial name
Mycteria leucocephala
(Pennant, 1769)
PaintedStorkMap.svg
Synonyms

Tantalus leucocephalus
Ibis leucocephalus
Pseudotantalus leucocephalus

Contents

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.

Description

This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis. The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour. The long tertials are tipped in bright pink and at rest they extend over the back and rump. There is a distinctive black breast band with white scaly markings. The band continues into the under-wing coverts and the white tips of the black coverts give it the appearance of white stripes running across the under-wing lining.

The rest of the body is whitish in adults and the primaries and secondaries are black with a greenish gloss. The legs are yellowish to red but often appear white due their habit of urohidrosis or defecating on their legs especially when at rest. The short tail is black with a green gloss. [2] For a stork, it is medium-sized, standing about 93–102 cm (36.5–40 in) tall, 150–160 cm (59–63 in) in wingspan and weighing 2–3.5 kg (4.4–7.7 lb). Males and females appear alike but the males of a pair are usually larger than the female. [3] [4]

The downy young are mainly whitish with grey bills and blackish facial skin. The juveniles assume a brownish plumage and like most other storks reach breeding condition after two to three years. [5]

Like all storks, they fly with their neck outstretched. They often make use of the late morning thermals to soar in search of foraging areas. Like other storks they are mostly silent but clatter their bills at nest and may make some harsh croaking or low moaning [2] sounds at nest. [6]

Taxonomy

In the past the species has been placed in the genera Ibis, Tantalus and Pseudotantalus. The slight curve to the beak led them to be considered as a relative of the ibises. The older genus names were based on Greek mythology where Tantalus was punished by having to stand in a pool of water. [7] T C Jerdon called it the "Pelican Ibis". [8] Later studies placed along with the wood-storks in the genus Mycteria, members of which have similar bill structure and share a common feeding behaviour of sweeping their half-open bill from side to side inside water as they wade [9] and their evolutionary affinity has been confirmed by sequence based studies. [10] [11]

Distribution and habitat

The painted stork is widely distributed over the plains of Asia. They are found south of the Himalayan ranges and are bounded on the west by the Indus River system where they are rare and extend eastwards into Southeast Asia. They are absent from very dry or desert regions, dense forests and the higher hill regions. They are rare in most of Kerala and the species appears to have expanded into that region only in the 1990s. [12] [13] They prefer freshwater wetlands in all seasons, but also use irrigation canals and crop fields, particularly flooded rice fields during the monsoon. [14] They are resident in most regions but make seasonal movements. [6] Young birds may disperse far from their breeding sites as demonstrated by a juvenile ringed at a nest in Keoladeo National Park that was recovered 800 kilometres away at Chilka in eastern India. [5] Breeding is always on large trees, usually in areas where nesting trees are secured over long periods of time, including in wetland reserves, [15] along community-managed village ponds and lakes, [16] inside villages when protection is also afforded to nesting birds like in Kokrebellur, [17] protected tree patches in urban locations such as zoos, [18] and on islands in urban wetlands. [19]

Behaviour and ecology

Painted storks feed in groups in shallow wetlands, crop fields and irrigation canals. The maximum success of finding prey was at 7 cm of water depth at Keoladeo-Ghana National Park. [20] They feed mainly on small fish which they sense by touch while slowly sweeping their half open bill from side to side while it held submerged. They walk slowly and also disturb the water with their feet to flush fish. [21] They also take frogs and the occasional snake. [22] They forage mainly in the day but may forage late or even at night under exceptional conditions. [23] After they are fed they may stand still on the shore for long durations. [24] Painted storks in the Delhi region were observed eating fish, while those in Kokrebellur in south India fed nestlings with frogs, crabs, large insects and grasshoppers. [25] Flock sizes in agricultural landscapes are mostly small (<5 birds) but reach flocks of over 50 birds. In such landscapes, flock sizes do not vary much between seasons, but densities are much higher in winter after chicks of the year have fledged from nests. [14]

Painted storks breed on trees either in mixed colonies along with other water birds, or by themselves. [26] The breeding season begins in the winter months shortly after the monsoons. In northern India, the breeding season begins in mid-August [15] while in southern India the nest initiation begins around October [27] and continues till February [28] and or even until April. [6] [18] One detailed study in Bengaluru city saw storks building nests between early February and mid-March, with all of the observed nests having fledgelings by mid-May. [19] Considerable variation is noticed in the onset of breeding across sites with the season at Kokrebellur and Edurupattu around January or February but at Telineelapuram, Kundakulam and Tirunelveli the breeding begins around October or November. [27]

The typical clutch varies from one to five eggs with early breeders having larger clutches. [29] [30] The incubation period is about a month while the fledging period is nearly two months. [19] [31] [32] There is occasional predation of chicks by migrant Aquila eagles, Pallas's fish eagle, House Crows, and Black Kites. [29] [33] [34] During the mid-day heat, adults will stand at the nest with wings outstretched to shade the chicks. They defecate on their legs which are highly vascularized in order to cool themselves. This behaviour known as urohidrosis increases with ambient temperature. [35] To feed chicks, adults regurgitate fish that they have caught and these are typically smaller than 20 cm (7.9 in) long. [21] Young chicks, when threatened, disgorge food and feign death by crumpling to the nest floor. [24] The daily requirement for chicks has been estimated to be 500–600 grams (18–21 oz) made up of about 9 fish fed in two sessions. [5] [36] Nest survival (measured as daily nest survival) is higher for nests initiated early in the monsoon season, lower with decreasing temperature, and higher at larger colonies. [16] The bare red skin on the head is developed when reaching breeding maturity and involves the loss of feathers and the deposition of lipids under the skin. [37] [38] Birds in captivity have been known to live for as long as 28 years. [5] Birds raised as chicks have been known to be tame and docile, even responding to their names when called. [6]

A bird louse, Ardeicola tantali was described on the basis of a specimen obtained from this species [39] as also a subcutaneous mite, Neottialges kutzeri , of the family Hypoderidae. [40]

Conservation

Painted stork nesting colonies often become centres of tourist attraction due to their large size and colour. Particularly well-known nest sites close to human settlements are in the south Indian villages of Kokrebellur and Veerapura. In Kokrebellur, the birds nest within the trees in the village forming mixed nesting colonies with the spot-billed pelican. The local people provide security to these birds during the brief nesting season when the birds arrive in October and until they leave the village after a couple of months. [41] [17] Another well-known colony that has been studied since the 1960s is the one inside the Delhi Zoological Park where the birds arrive about 30–40 days after the onset of the monsoons in Delhi. [42] This colony is made up of 300 to 600 wild birds that make use of the trees within the artificial islands inside the zoo. [29] Another colony of 26-96 nests is known from the Sultanpur National Park in Haryana, India where years with increased rainfall see more storks nesting. [43] The largest north-Indian breeding population is known from Keoladeo-Ghana National Park that is estimated to have 2,500 nests. [44] Uppalapadu village near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Kolleru, [45] Gowtavaram Village in Andhra Pradesh and Ranganathittu are among the many other breeding colonies known from southern India. [46] [47] Captive birds are known to breed readily when provided with nesting materials and platforms. [48] [49] The largest secure population is found in India. Birds in Pakistan along the Indus River system are endangered and chicks at their nests are taken away for the bird trade. The species was nearly decimated in Thailand while small populations are known from Cambodia and Vietnam. [5] [26] Painted Storks taken from Sri Lanka were kept in captivity and subsequently released in Malaysia where the annual growth of the population is 10-13%. [50]

There are some concerns for the closely related milky stork owing to hybridization with the painted stork, particularly in zoos. Hybrids have been recorded in the wild in Cambodia and in several zoos including those at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Zoo and Bangkok. [51] [52] Hybridization with lesser adjutant storks have also been recorded in several zoos, especially at the Colombo Zoo, Sri Lanka where a male painted stork and female lesser adjutant mated and reared chicks several times. [26]

Related Research Articles

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Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes. Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibises, but those families have been moved to other orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoebill</span> Species of bird

The shoebill, also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American white ibis</span> Bird in the ibis family

The American white ibis is a species of bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is found from the southern half of the US East Coast, along the Gulf Coast states and south through most of the Caribbean coastal regions of Central America. This particular ibis species is a medium-sized wading bird, possessing an overall white plumage with black wing-tips, and having the typical downward-curving bill of the ibises, though of a bright red-orange color, the same hue as its long legs. Males are larger and have longer bills than females. The breeding range runs along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and the coasts of Mexico and Central America. Outside the breeding period, the range extends further inland in North America and also includes the Caribbean. It is also found along the northwestern South American coastline in Colombia and Venezuela. Populations in central Venezuela overlap and interbreed with the scarlet ibis. The two have been classified by some authorities as a single species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossy ibis</span> Species of bird

The glossy ibis is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian woolly-necked stork</span> Species of bird

The Asian woolly-necked stork or Asian woollyneck is a species of large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds singly, or in small loose colonies. It is distributed in a wide variety of habitats including marshes in forests, agricultural areas, and freshwater wetlands across Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser adjutant</span> Species of bird

The lesser adjutant is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Like other members of its genus, it has a bare neck and head. It is however more closely associated with wetland habitats where it is solitary and is less likely to scavenge than the related greater adjutant. It is a widespread species found from India through Southeast Asia to Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-necked stork</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spot-billed pelican</span> Species of bird

The spot-billed pelican or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little cormorant</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood stork</span> Wading bird found in the Americas

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed ibis</span> Species of bird

The black-headed ibis, also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast Asia from India to the west and as far east as Japan. It is the only native ibis species in its range that has an overall white plumage with a black neck and head. The down-curved beak and legs are also black. Though often referred to as a wetland species, the black-headed ibis forages in a range of natural and man-made habitats. This species of ibis nests only during the rainy season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian openbill</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-billed stork</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milky stork</span> Species of bird

The milky stork is a stork species inhabiting predominantly mangroves in Southeast Asia. It is native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is currently included in the genus Mycteria, is around 91–97 cm (36–38 in) tall, with a wingspan of 43.5–50 cm (17.1–19.7 in) and a tail around 14.5–17 cm (5.7–6.7 in). Its plumage is white apart from a few feathers at the wings and tail. Since the 1980's, the global milky stork population has declined from 5,000 to 2,000 individuals due to habitat destruction, overfishing and illegal smuggling of chicks. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-naped ibis</span> Species of bird

The red-naped ibis also known as the Indian black ibis or black ibis is a species of ibis found in the plains, agriculture fields and cities of the Indian Subcontinent. Unlike other ibises in the region it is not found very often in waterbodies and is often found in dry fields, but are attracted more to areas that have more wetlands. It is usually seen in pairs or loose groups and can be identified by the nearly all dark body with a white patch on the shoulder and a bare dark head with a patch of crimson red warty skin on the crown and nape. It has a loud call and is noisy when breeding. It builds its nest most often on the top of a large tree or palm, and an increasing number of pairs are building on cell phone towers and electricity pillion towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokrebellur</span> Village in Karnataka, India

Kokkarebellur Bird Sanctuary, usually shortened by the colloquial usage to Kokrebellur is a village in Maddur taluk of Mandya district of Karnataka, India. The village is named after the painted stork, which is called "kokkare" in the native Kannada language. This bird nests here in large numbers every year. The village is situated near Maddur between the cities of Mysore and Bangalore. Apart from painted storks, spot-billed pelicans are also found here in large numbers. Both are classified to be near threatened in the IUCN Red List. The village is one of the 21 breeding sites of those birds in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater adjutant</span> Species of bird

The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the lesser adjutant of Asia and the marabou stork of Africa. Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia, the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations; two in India, with the largest colony in Assam and a smaller one around Bhagalpur; and another breeding population in Cambodia. They disperse widely after the breeding season. This large stork has a massive wedge-shaped bill, a bare head and a distinctive neck pouch. During the day, it soars in thermals along with vultures with whom it shares the habit of scavenging. They feed mainly on carrion and offal; however, they are opportunistic and will sometimes prey on vertebrates. The English name is derived from their stiff "military" gait when walking on the ground. Large numbers once lived in Asia, but they have declined to the point of endangerment. The total population in 2008 was estimated at around a thousand individuals. In the 19th century, they were especially common in the city of Calcutta, where they were referred to as the "Calcutta adjutant" and included in the coat of arms for the city. Known locally as hargila and considered to be unclean birds, they were largely left undisturbed but sometimes hunted for the use of their meat in folk medicine. Valued as scavengers, they were once depicted in the logo of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maguari stork</span> Species of bird

The maguari stork is a large species of stork that inhabits seasonal wetlands over much of South America, and is very similar in appearance to the white stork; albeit slightly larger. It is the only species of its genus to occur in the New World and is one of the only three New World stork species, together with the wood stork and the jabiru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarus crane</span> Species of bird

The sarus crane is a large nonmigratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m, they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in South Asia, seasonally flooded Dipterocarpus forests in Southeast Asia, and Eucalyptus-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African woolly-necked stork</span> Species of bird

The African woolly-necked stork or African woollyneck is a species of large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds singly, or in small loose colonies. It is distributed in a wide variety of habitats including marshes in forests, agricultural areas, and freshwater wetlands across Africa.

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