Asian Openbill Stork

A small flock of Asian Openbill Stork Anastomus oscitans was standing at some distance in the field behind the rest rooms. Some sixty birds of this species were seen on the tour, forty of which were seen on this day. I found it quite remarkable and exciting to see such a party of birds close to a petrol station and shops alongside a major highway. Were they flying past and discovered that this would be a good place to rest? If so, why was this the case and when and where would they go next? It doesn’t appear to be an area with a good source of food for the birds, their preferred habitat being marshes, shallow lakes, reservoirs and paddy fields. This particular individual was standing apart from the main flock and it wasn’t until I looked at the photograph later that I noticed the bird standing or perhaps sitting alongside, presumably a Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger.

Asian Openbill Stork also known as Asian Openbill is a large wading bird, one of nineteen in the Stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. Young birds are born without this gap which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

This species is predominantly greyish (non-breeding season) or white (breeding season) with glossy black wings and tail that have a green or purple sheen. The short legs are pinkish to grey, reddish prior to breeding. The pale pinkish legs of this bird indicates that it is in non-breeding plumage.

References: Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp (1998) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent p.572, published by Helm; Wikipedia; Openbill Storks