Feathers on the body are white with fine greenish black pattern on the back, and pink dots like the rose color on its wing and lower part of the back. The chest has black stripes, the hair on the wing and tail is black, the spur is yellow, the face skin is shiny yellow, and the leg is brown and almost red. The younger bird has light brown body feathers. The hair around the neck has stripes on the black edge and there is no stripe on the chest.
Can be found in the low plain in India, the East and the West of China, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and Melayu. It always seeks for the food in a troop near the swamp. HABITAT AND ECOLOGY It frequents freshwater marshes, lakes and reservoirs, flooded fields, rice paddies, irrigation canals, freshwater swamp forest, river banks, intertidal mudflats and saltpans.
The food then is crab, fish, frog and tadpole.
The Painted Stork will eat the aquatic animal which it will get into the water and use its spur to seek for the food in the mud, in the water, or it may seek for the food by stretching out its wing, bend his body, stay still, and open its mouth in the water. When the prey comes close, it will then immediately bite and use its mouth edge to ground the prey until the prey dies, and then swallow the prey.
Conservation Actions Underway Landscape-scale monitoring of breeding and foraging populations on agricultural areas in South Asia has been coordinated by the International Crane Foundation and the Nature Conservation Foundation since 2011 (G. Sundarin litt. 2016). It occurs in a number of protected areas. It is classified as a Rare Species under Cambodian law (Visal and Mahood 2015). Since 2004 the colony at Prek Toal, Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, has been successfully protected and monitored by MoE staff who work with former egg collectors. Data derived from tree-top platform based counts indicate that the population has grown from 1,000 to 2,300 nests from 2004 to 2011. However, overflights of the colony suggest that only 50% is visible from platforms, so there are now likely to be 4-5,000 nesting pairs (S. Mahood in litt. 2012). Three postage stamps have been brought out in India to raise awareness of the species (Urfi 2011, A J Urfi in litt. 2016). Conservation Actions Proposed Regularly monitor known colonies throughout the species range. Ensure complete and permanent protection of all breeding congregations. Encourage farming systems that create and not destroy suitable foraging habitat. Mitigate against development schemes which destroy sites where it is found. Conduct awareness campaigns involving local residents to engender pride in the species and other large waterbirds and prevent hunting.
CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Ciconiiformes
FAMILY : Ciconiidae
GENUS : Mycteria
SPECIES : Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Conservation status : Near Threatened
Is a big sized cormorant with the height while standing of approximately 90 centimeters.
Update : 11 April 2017
