Painted Stork
Mycteria leucocephala
Summary 3
The Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wading bird 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 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...
Conservation status 4
Painted storks have been classified as near threatened by the IUCN Red list of Threatened species and their population continues to decline throughout southern and southeast China. In recent years they have faced local extirpation in southern China where they are often confronted with local exploitation. Intensification of agriculture and commercial fish farms are contributing to loss of habitat and food resources. Wetland preservation is an important factor in sustaining populations in developing agricultural regions to maintain adequate feeding grounds as well as nesting colonies.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: near threatened
Range description 5
Mycteria leucocephala occurs in Pakistan (scarce; mainly confined to the Indus delta region), Nepal (rare in terai; mainly a summer visitor), India (widespread and locally common resident), Bangladesh (former resident, now a straggler to coastal regions), Sri Lanka (locally abundant, particularly in the dry zone), China (previously a common summer visitor in south, probably breeding, but now rare and possibly extinct), Myanmar (former resident in central region and visitor throughout; current status unknown but clearly rare), Thailand (previously common breeder in south, now on verge of extinction, small numbers recorded sporadically elsewhere), Laos (previously widespread, now rare), Vietnam (formerly widespread resident, now a rare non-breeding visitor), Cambodia (local resident, 4-5,000 pairs breeding at Prek Toal, Tonle Sap Lake) and Peninsular Malaysia(previously regular, now a vagrant). There are an estimated 15,000 individuals in South Asia and fewer than 10,000 in South-East Asia(Perennou et al. 1994), with populations declining throughout. Although it is considered one of the most numerous and secure of Asian storks, this is more a reflection of the rarity and endangerment of most storks in the region, than the security of this species.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Pandiyan V, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/13774211@N00/85223027
- (c) c michael hogan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by c michael hogan
- Adapted by c michael hogan from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycteria_leucocephala
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31408020
- (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34585529
