Black-necked Stork

Black-necked Stork
: Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Ciconiiformes : Ciconiidae : Ephippiorhynchus : asiaticus
Binomial name
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus (Latham, 1790)

The Black-necked Stork, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species, which is a resident breeder in southern Asia and Australasia, from India east to New Guinea and the northern half of Australia.

This is a huge bird, typically 130-150 cm tall with a 230cm wingspan. It is spectacularly plumaged. The head, neck, wing bar and tail are jet black, with the rest of the plumage white. The massive bill is black and the legs are bright red. Sexes are identical except that the female has an yellow iris, while the male's is brown. Juveniles are mainly light brown with a white belly and dark legs.

Like most storks, these fly with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron.

The Black-necked Stork breeds in marshes and other wetlands in tropical lowland. It builds a stick nest in trees, laying 3-5 eggs. It often forms small colonies.

The Black-necked Stork, like most of its relatives, feeds mainly on fish, frogs and large insects, but also on young birds, lizards and rodents.

References

• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6