Black-necked Stork

The Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) is a large wading bird that is characterized by its bold black and white plumage. It lives in wetlands and around lakes, where they forage for prey including coots, ducks, jacanas, little grebes and other birds, apart from fish, snakes, frogs, crabs and large insects.

Black-necked Stork at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

The Black-necked Stork is stately with a jet black crown, wings and tail contrasting sharply with white on the rest of its body. Males have brown irises, while the female eyes are yellow. There is not much else that differentiates the sexes in this bird. Their necks are glossy iridescent with blue, red, green or purple depending on the light and viewing angle. It has a large black bill and red legs. They weigh approximately 4 kilograms.

Black-necked Stork in flight over Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

These birds are seen in south and south-east Asia, and also have a resident population in Australia.  In India, they are found in the west, north and east but rarely in the south. With sightings becoming rarer due to depleting numbers, these birds can sometimes be seen as pairs in places around Delhi – almost certainly at Surajpur Bird Sanctuary in Greater Noida, lesser at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana, and at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur where a few pairs reside.

A pair of Black-necked Storks at Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida

These storks are beautiful in flight and often soar in the heat of the day. They are also found sitting for long hours or foraging gracefully as pairs. They build their nests, usually on old trees after the rains, and raise two or three chicks. At times, they even stay as pairs after the breeding season is over.

Black-necked Stork foraging at Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida

The Black-necked Stork is categorized as “vulnerable” by IUCN. Their total number in Asia has plummeted to just about 1,000 birds, while Australia has about 20,000.

At its favorite perch at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

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All images © Mathew Joseph

Woolly-necked Stork

The Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia Episcopus) or Bishop Stork or Indian White-necked Stork is a large bird inhabiting wetlands across South Asia and the Far East, and North Africa. I have photographed these birds in and around Delhi, and mostly after the rains in Bharatpur, Rajasthan where these birds nest.

Woolly-necked Stork at Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida, UP

These birds are hard to miss, given their characteristic woolly-neck that they are named for. Found in pairs and small flocks, the woolly-necked storks have a glistening green-black plumage with a black capped head, white neck and white under parts. The breast is glossy purple, red legs and a dark beak. They are also called Bishop Storks for their colors that resemble the vestments worn by the Christian clergy.

Bishop Storks at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur, Rajasthan

The woolly-necked storks have large wings and soar high on thermals. They fly with their necks outstretched as all storks do. They wade in shallow water and on the ground, catching their prey of fish, marine invertebrates, small amphibians, insects and even small reptiles.

They build nests made of sticks and twigs atop trees and the female lays a clutch of two to five eggs. With growing loss of habitat and decrease in numbers, these birds have been categorized as ‘vulnerable’ by IUCN.

Woolly-necked Storks in flight over tree tops at Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Black Stork

The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is a fairly large but secretive wading bird in the Stork family. It is found across temperate Europe and Asia, but is not very common. In the past two years of my weekly birding trips in India, I have come across them only once – a small flock of 5 or 6 birds on a pebbly riverbed at the Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand in the foothills of the Himalayas during the winters. They are rather shy and took off when I stopped to take pictures.

These birds are strong migrants and fly to tropical Africa and India during the winters. In summers, they are resident in a geographical arc from Siberia and China in the East to Spain and Portugal in the west. These large birds weigh up to 3 kg, and stand about 100 cm tall, with a huge wing span of about 5 feet which help them soar on thermals and fly long distances over land. Their plumage is all black with a purple or greenish gloss, with some under-parts white in color. The long legs and beak are bright red in adults, especially during the breeding season. They also have a bright red patch around their eyes.

I was hoping to see their annual migration from Europe to Africa over the Bosphorus during my last visit to Istanbul, but missed it by a few weeks. The Black Storks found in northern and north-east India are usually from Siberia and northern China.

The Black Storks build their nests made of twigs on top trees or on craggy cliffs in central Europe. These storks are known to kill one of their nestlings, usually the weakest one, in times of food shortage to reduce the brood size and increase the chance of survival of the fitter ones.

These birds are categorized by IUCN as under Least Concern as their stocks are more or less stable across their habitat. All the images on this blog are photographed by me in Corbett Tiger Reserve, in January this year.

Asian Openbill Stork

Asian Openbill Stork or Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) is a medium sized wading bird of the stork family found in India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Myanmar and Thailand. The adult birds typically have a gap in their bill, which lends it their name. They are white in color, with a greyish tinge and black wings, with short yellowish legs.

Asian Openbill at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

They are often sighted soaring, neck extended in flight like all storks, riding on thermals above large wetlands and water bodies, though rarely along rivers.

Asian Openbill, soaring above the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Asian Openbill taking off at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

The unique opening between the upper and lower mandible is more prominent among adults, while the young do not have any gap. This is thought to be an adaptation for extracting the contents of their favorite food – the snails that they seem to relish upon. The sharp end of the bill is inserted into the snail and the meat extracted, while the bill is still underwater.

Asian Openbill, at Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida

The Asian Openbill nests after the rainy season, between July to September in northern India and later in south India, when they form large mixed breeding colonies on top of trees along with other birds such as cormorants, darters, ibises, spoonbills and herons. The trees in the famous Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary come alive with hundreds of birds nesting, with hundreds more carrying out sorties, bringing home nesting material or food. They nest close to each other, which results in lot of loud jostling and flapping around the nesting sites. The nestlings are often preyed upon by eagles.

Carrying nesting material at Keoladeo Bird Sanctaury, Bharatpur

Nesting site at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

These birds fly quite high, flapping and then gliding along air currents, and rapidly descending into their feeding areas. Groups of Openbill Storks forage in shallow wetlands, feeding on snails, and at times, frogs, water snakes and large insects.

Asian Openbill over the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Nearer Delhi, large nesting colonies of these Asian Openbill can be sighted during breeding season in Surajpur Wetlands in Greater Noida where they have earmarked certain palm trees for nesting every year where dozens of birds jostle for space.

Asian Openbill, at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Painted Stork

Painted Storks (Mycteria leucocephala) are one of the beautiful birds endemic to the Indian sub-continent below the Himalayas and some parts of East Asia. They are non-migratory, travel within their range that spreads from the Indus river on the western side to as far as Malaysia and Cambodia. However, the bulk of the population resides in India and is seen in most wetlands and water bodies in the country. They are locally known as janghil or dhok.

Painted Stork, Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan

These birds get their name from the distinctive pink tertial feathers. The heavy yellow beak is with a down-curved tip makes it resemble an Ibis. However, its flight is typical stork-like with its head extended. They have a black breast-band with white scaly markings that extend into their underwing coverts. The rest of the body is white, and the legs are yellow.

Painted Stork foraging at Basai Wetlands, Haryana

The Painted Storks prefer shallow waters, and they feed on small fish, frogs and at times, even snakes. They forage mainly during the day, walking slowly in water flushing out the fish with their movement. Some birds even forage at night. These birds live in small groups, and nest in colonies with other storks, ibises, spoonbills, cormorants, black-crowned night herons and others.

Painted Stork in flight over Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

For those residing in Delhi, the best places to watch large colonies of painted storks, especially during their breeding season which begins after the rains is the National Zoological Park where a few hundred wild birds appear every season and build nests on the trees beside water bodies in this safe habitat. 

Painted Storks nesting at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Another location made picturesque by these birds in their hundreds is the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan where huge colonies of Painted Storks build their nests in the trees on islands, safe from humans and most predators.

Painted Storks at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

The Painted Stork typically lays a clutch of two to five eggs, in the nests they build on trees, and incubates them over a month. The birds take care of their eggs and fledglings from crows, kites, eagles and other predators. The parents are also sighted standing over the nests with their wings extended to protect the young birds from the hot sun.

Painted Stork, Juvenile, at Delhi Zoo

Painted Stork, Juvenile, at Delhi Zoo

Painted Stork, Juvenile, at Delhi Zoo

The baby storks are white in color, with grey bills and black skin on their heads. The juveniles are brownish as seen in the photographs in this blog. They mature and reach breeding age in two to three years, by which time the color of their facial skin turns red and the ‘paintings’ appear on their plumage! No wonder these colonies of breeding painted storks become tourist places where birds and photographers appear in droves to admire and click these beautiful large birds!

Painted Storks in raucous breeding activity at Bharatpur

The Painted Storks live for about 20 to 28 years, and stay in more or less the same location for most of their lives. With predators such as leopards, crocodiles, hyenas and humans, and facing an increasingly shrinking habitat, these birds have been categorized as “Near Threatened” by the IUCN. 

Painted Stork in flight over Basai wetlands, near Gurgaon, Haryana

At times, even silly decisions by sanctuary authorities can drive away these birds from nesting sites. A case in point was last year, when a bird-brained decision was made at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur to build small islands in the water bodies right at the time when the birds started nesting. The human activity as well as the noisy construction of an internal road led to an exodus of Painted Storks from the sanctuary, leaving behind their nests, eggs and nestlings!

Painted Storks roost in colonies at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Little Grebe

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus rufilocollis) is a common water bird found across ponds, lakes and marshlands across India and other countries in south Asia, Africa and some parts of Europe. It is also known as the Dabchick.

A pair of Little Grebe, at Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

Little Grebe at Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan

The Little Grebe is a small bird with a pointed beak and a fluffy rear end. During the breeding season, the male plumage is dark rufus, which gets replaced with a buff color during the winters. Juveniles have a yellow bill, which turns dark later on.

Little Grebe, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

Little Grebe, Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida

Though these birds are unable to walk well, they are expert swimmers and hunt their prey, mostly fish and aquatic invertebrates underwater. I have watched them dive for a long time, and surface at a different place, which show their endurance underwater.

Little Grebe, at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

Little Grebe, at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

They build nests at the edge of the water, hidden in vegetation. The chicks quickly take to water after hatching. Adults are known to carry young chicks on their backs while swimming. The Little Grebes breed during the rainy season in India.

A breeding pair of Little Grebes, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

Little Grebe, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

The images shown here are mostly from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary where they are found all round the year, but some are from other locations where I have gone for bird watching. 

Breeding pair of Little Grebes, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Delhi NCR

Common Teal

Common Teal or Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca) is a winter migrant to India, and are found in large flocks in and around small lakes, ponds and other water bodies in the vicinity of woodlands from October until February. Highly migratory, the teals breeds across Europe and North Asia, and winters far south.

Common Teal in flight at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

It is the smallest of the dabbling ducks, and weight less than 350 grams. The drakes are easily recognizable by the dark green tear-shaped patch on their heads. The females and juveniles are much yellowish-brown in colour, while the eclipse males resemble the female with subdued facial markings.

Common Teal amidst a flock of Northern Pintails at Bharatpur

For nesting, they choose hollows in the ground in thick vegetation near water bodies. During this period, their diet changes from seeds, grass and other vegetation to crustaceans, worms, insects, etc. The otherwise nocturnal feeder also becomes active during the day.

Common teal in flight

Though the Common Teal is threatened with shrinking habitat across its breeding and winter habitats, their numbers are still large enough to be classified as “Least Concern” by IUCN. These birds are also susceptible to avian influenza and bird botulism. They are also hunted in some countries.

Common Teal flying over the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Strangely, I have very few images of these birds despite visiting a large number of water bodies over the course of two years of intensive birding. The images I have are from Bharatpur, where I have sighted them in flight and intermingled with roosting flocks of other duck species.

Swan Goose

Swan Goose (Anser Sygnoides) is a rare migratory goose from northern Asia, and wintering in China and some countries in the Far East. Having been domesticated, feral and escaped birds are often sighted among other swan and goose species in other countries where they were introduced.

Swan Goose, at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

These birds are long-necked, with greyish-brown upper body and maroon hind neck and cap. The underside is pale buff. Males are typically larger than females, and the juveniles resemble the female. They are usually found near water sources, and form small flocks outside the breeding season.

Around 60,000 to 100,000 birds exist in the wild, and they have been placed in the ‘vulnerable’ category by IUCN, where it was earlier categorized as ‘endangered’. Most of the world’s Swan Geese are found along the lower Yangtze river in China.

I photographed a pair of these birds in Bharatpur in August 2014. The male seems to have been injured near its bill, and the female (featured above) was keeping a close watch on him. I believe these must be feral birds or escapes, than migrants from China.

Northern Pintail

The Northern Pintail (Anas Acuta) is a slender-necked duck with a distinctive silhouette that is found in temperate regions across Asia, Europe and Northern America. Like most other ducks, the Northern Pintails migrate south for the winter. They are found in most parts of India during the migratory season, and are usually the first migrants to arrive in the country.

Northern Pintail, at the Surajpur Bird Sanctuary, Greater Noida

The breeding males of this species have a chocolate-colored head with a white stripe on each side of its neck. These large ducks are quite striking, and the grey, brown and black patterning is unique to the drakes. The females look more subtle, with rather drab plumage.  Juvenile birds usually resemble the female.

Northern Pintail, male, flying over Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

The central feathers on the tail of the male birds are elongated, and are almost a quarter of the bird’s length, thus giving the Northern Pintail its name.  The males have a flute-like whistle, while the females have a rough quack.

Northern Pintails roosting at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

A flock of Northern Pintail in flight over Bharatpur

These ducks inhabit open wetlands and feed on vegetation by dabbling in the shallow water. During breeding, they also eat crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates by filter-feeding on the surface of the water.

Flock of Northern Pintail at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

The Northern Pintail are highly gregarious and form large flocks during the non-breeding season. They nest on the ground by digging a shallow pit and lining it with down. Their nests are usually a bit away from the water and they lay a clutch of 3-12 eggs.

Northern Pintails roost at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur

Though the global population is going down, there are sufficient number of ducks in the wild, and are therefore categorized as “Least Concern” by IUCN. I have photographed these birds across most bird sanctuaries that I have visited during the winters.

A flock of Northern Pintail, at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur