Asian woolly-necked stork facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Asian woolly-necked stork |
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| Mangaon, Raigad, Maharashtra India | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ciconia
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| Species: |
episcopus
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The Asian woolly-necked stork (scientific name: Ciconia episcopus) is a large wading bird. It belongs to the stork family, Ciconiidae. These storks live in many different places. You can find them in marshes, farms, and wetlands across Asia. They usually breed alone or in small groups.
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About the Asian Woolly-necked Stork
Scientists group living things into categories. This is called taxonomy. The woolly-necked stork was first described in 1780. A French scientist named Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote about it. He saw a bird from the Coromandel Coast of India. Later, in 1783, a Dutch scientist, Pieter Boddaert, gave it the scientific name Ardea episcopus.
Today, this stork is in the genus Ciconia. The word Ciconia is Latin for "stork." The word episcopus is Latin for "bishop." This might be because its white neck looks like a bishop's robe.
There are two main types, or subspecies, of the Asian woolly-necked stork:
- C. e. episcopus: Found from India to Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and parts of Sumatra.
- C. e. neglecta: Found in southern Sumatra, Java, and other islands like Sulawesi.
What Does the Asian Woolly-necked Stork Look Like?
The woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork. It stands about 75 to 92 centimeters (30 to 36 inches) tall. Its eyes are a deep red color. Most of its body is shiny black. It has a black "skull cap" on its head. Its neck is white and fluffy, which is how it got its name.
The lower belly and the feathers under its tail are white. This makes them stand out from its dark body. The feathers on its front neck can look purple or copper in the light. These feathers are long and can stand up when the bird shows off. Its tail is white and deeply split, but it is usually covered by black feathers.
This stork has long red legs and a heavy, dark bill. Some storks have bills that are mostly dark red. Male and female storks look alike. Young storks are duller than adults. Their foreheads have feathers that can be streaked with black and white.
When the stork opens its wings, you can see a bright band of skin. This skin is on the underside of its forearm. People have described it as "neon, orange-red" or "almost glowing."
Where Do Asian Woolly-necked Storks Live?
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This stork is found across tropical Asia. It lives from India all the way to Indonesia. They build their nests on trees in farms or wetlands. They also nest on natural cliffs and even cell phone towers.
They use many types of freshwater wetlands. This includes ponds, marshes, and irrigation canals. They are often seen in farm areas and wetlands that are not protected. They like to catch insects escaping from fires in grasslands.
In some parts of Asia, they use ponds and marshes inside forests. In India, they are not common near the coast. However, storks in Sulawesi have been seen eating sea snakes near the coast. In northern India, they prefer empty fields in summer. In winter, they like natural wetlands. They are even spreading to dry areas like the Thar Desert in India. This is thanks to new irrigation canals.
These storks have been seen high up in mountains. They have been spotted at over 3,700 meters (12,000 feet) in China. They have also been seen at 3,540 meters (11,600 feet) in Nepal.
How Do Asian Woolly-necked Storks Behave?
Adult storks make different sounds. They make two-part whistles when they are at their nests. They also make a loud hissing sound if they feel threatened.
The woolly-necked stork is a bird that soars. This means it uses warm air currents to fly long distances. Like other storks, it flies with its neck stretched out. People have seen them "roll, tumble, and dive" in the air. Their feathers make a loud noise as they do this.
These storks are usually seen alone, in pairs, or in small family groups. Sometimes, you might see larger groups or flocks. Flocks are more common in dry areas during summer. This is when there are fewer wetlands left. In places with more water, flocks are seen in winter after the young birds have left their nests.
Storks in farming areas in India change their behavior with the seasons. They prefer dry fields in summer. They avoid flooded rice fields. This suggests they find food more easily in drier areas. They also do not seem to be scared of farmers. This means that farms can be good places for these storks to find food.
What Do Asian Woolly-necked Storks Eat?
The Asian woolly-necked stork walks slowly on the ground. It looks for its food. Like most storks, it eats amphibians (like frogs), reptiles (like snakes), and insects.
How Do Asian Woolly-necked Storks Breed?
These storks build large nests made of sticks. They usually build them in trees. They can also use scattered trees in farm areas. Sometimes, they even build nests on cell phone towers in cities. However, this is not very common. They occasionally use cliffs by rivers for nesting.
A female stork usually lays two to six eggs. Five or six eggs are less common. In northern India, storks often nest in trees near irrigation canals. They prefer trees far from human homes. They reuse their nest sites for many years. More than 44% of nests are used again.
These storks often have many chicks. In one study, over three chicks successfully left the nest. Some nests even had four, five, or six chicks. This shows that the woolly-necked stork does not always need wetlands to build its nests. Other stork species often build their nests very close to water.
Interestingly, other birds sometimes use the stork's nests. Black kites have reused stork nests after the chicks left. Dusky eagle-owls also prefer to reuse woolly-necked stork nests. This means that these storks help other bird species by providing good nesting spots.
Conservation Efforts
In 2014, the Asian woolly-necked stork's conservation status changed. It went from "Near-threatened" to "Vulnerable." This was because people thought that losing forests in Southeast Asia would harm the storks. They believed the storks needed protected wetlands in forests.
However, in 2019, its status was changed back to "Near-threatened." New information from South Asia and Myanmar showed that there were many more storks than thought. Most woolly-necked storks actually use farms and unprotected wetlands. They are less common inside protected forests.
This means the species is not completely dependent on protected wetlands and forests. Farms in northern India support many breeding pairs. These storks have many chicks and behave like storks in protected areas. The estimated number of storks in South Asia alone is now over 200,000.
Counts along the Mekong river in Cambodia have shown different numbers of storks. It is hard to know if the population has changed there. This is because the counting methods and seasons were different. In Southeast Asia, most protected forests and wetlands are at risk. This means woolly-necked storks in that region might face a difficult future.
Images for kids
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With black-headed ibis at Pocharam lake, Telangana, India
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Flying in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.
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