Black-necked Stork - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Jabiru¹

Nominate subspecies : M-left F-right
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, 23 June 2017

Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus

Identification

110–137 cm (43¼-54 in)

• Jet black head, neck, wing bar and tail
• Remaining plumage white
• Hefty black bill
• Bright red legs

Apart from the female having a yellow iris and the male's being brown, the sexes are identical.
Juveniles - light brown, white belly and dark legs.

Female (yellow iris)- Ssp. australis
Photo © by Neil Fifer
Newcastle, Australia, May 2004

Distribution

India to Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies²:

• E. a. asiaticus:

• Indian subcontinent and South-eastern Asia

• E. a. australis:

• Northern and eastern Australia and southern New Guinea

Habitat

Marshes and wetlands in tropical lowland.

Behaviour

Breeding

They build a stick nest in trees. The clutch consists of 3-5 eggs.

Diet

The diet consists mostly of eels and catfish, and also includes turtles and their hatchlings, frogs and large insects, young birds, lizards and rodents.

Nominate subspecies : female and male in flight
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March-2019

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Male (dark iris)
  Photo © by keith h
  Yellow Water, Northern Territory, June 2008

• 

  Juvenile
  Photo © by tcollins
  Darwin, Northern Territory, 7 October 2007

• 

  Female
  Photo © by Hans&Judy Beste
  Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, July 2006

• 

  Immature-male : Ssp. asiaticus
  Photo © by Alok Tewari
  Keoladeo National Park, India, 28 June 2013

References

1. Not to be confused with Jabiru, Jabiru mycteria.
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2016)
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-necked Stork. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-necked_Stork

External Links

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