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