Painted Stork - Behaviour and Ecology

Behaviour and Ecology

Painted Storks feed in groups in shallow wetlands. The preferred depth is about 12 to 25 cm of water and deeper waters are avoided. They feed mainly on small fish which they sense by touch while slowly sweeping their half open bill from side to side while it held submerged. They walks slowly and also disturb the water with their feet to flush fish. They also take frogs and the occasional snake. They forage mainly in the day but may forage late or even at night under exceptional conditions. After they are fed they may stand still on the shore for long durations.

They breed in trees along with other water birds. The platform nests are typically placed in a tree on an island or in an otherwise undisturbed area. The best nesting sites are at the tops of the trees and birds jostle for these locations. In some areas where they have been left undisturbed they nest very close to human habitations.

The breeding season begins in the winter months shortly after the monsoons. In northern India, the breeding season begins in mid-August while in southern India the nest initiation begins around October and continues till February and or even until April. A lot of variation is noticed in the onset of breeding across sites with the season at Kokrebellur and Edurupattu around January or February but at Telineelapuram, Kundakulam and Tirunelveli the breeding begins around October or November. Predation of eggs is mainly by crows and while very young chicks were sometimes attacked by crows, the older chicks were attacked by Black Kites. The typical clutch varies from 2 to 5 eggs with early breeders having larger clutches. Young chicks, when threatened, disgorge food and feign death by crumpling on to the nest floor. The incubation period is about a month while the fledging period is nearly two months. The occasional predation of chicks by migrant Aquila eagles has been observed. During the mid-day heat, adults will stand at the nest with wings outstretched to shade the chicks. To feed chicks, adults regurgitate fish that they have caught and these are typically smaller than 20 cm long. The daily requirement for chicks has been estimated to be about 500 grams made up of about 9 fish fed in two sessions.

The bare red skin on the head is developed when reaching breeding maturity and involves the loss of feathers and the deposition of lipids under the skin. Birds in captivity have been known to live for as many as 28 years.

A bird louse, Ardeicola tantali is described on the basis of a specimen obtained from this species as is a subcutaneous mite, Neottialges kutzeri, of the family Hypoderidae.