Painted Stork

The painted stork is a large stork, standing 93–102cm tall with a wingspan of 150–160cm and a weight of 2–3.5kg. It has a heavy yellow bill with a down-curved tip that recalls an ibis, a bare orange or reddish face, and long tertial feathers tipped bright pink that give it its name. A black breast band with white scaly markings continues onto the underwing. The legs are yellowish to red but often look white because the bird cools itself by excreting on them. Males are usually larger than females (Wikipedia, general species account).

It forages in flocks in shallow water along rivers and lakes, sweeping its half-open bill from side to side and snapping up small fish found by touch, while stirring the water with its feet to flush hidden fish. It nests in colonies in trees, often with other waterbirds, and its only sounds are weak moans and bill-clattering at the nest. It is not migratory, making only short movements, and is often seen soaring on thermals. In India it is resident across a very large range; SoIB 2023 finds a current decline of about 3% a year and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).