Black-necked Stork

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Black-necked Stork
Female with yellow and male with dark iris
Conservation status
Near Threatened
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ciconiidae Genus: Ephippiorhynchus Species: E. asiaticus
Binomial name
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus Latham, 1790

The Black-necked Stork, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species, which is a resident breeder in southern Asia and Australasia, from India east to New Guinea and the northern half of Australia. In Australia, it is also known as a Jabiru but should not be confused with the similar bird of this name from the Americas, which belongs to a different genus.

The Black-necked Stork is a huge bird, typically 130-150 cm tall with a 230 cm wingspan. It is spectacularly plumaged. The head, neck, wing bar and tail are jet black, with the rest of the plumage white. The massive bill is black and the legs are bright red. Sexes are identical except that the female has a yellow iris, while the male's is brown. Juveniles are mainly light brown with a white belly and dark legs.

Like most storks, the Black-necked Stork flies with the neck outstretched, not retracted like a heron.

The Black-necked Stork breeds in marshes and other wetlands in tropical lowland. It builds a stick nest in trees, laying three to five eggs. It often forms small colonies. The diet consists mainly of fish, frogs and large insects. Young birds, lizards and rodents also taken.

The only stork in Australia, this species is considered as endangered there. The Black-necked Storks are extremely sensitive to environmental changes like water pollution, habitat destruction and human disruption around breeding sites. It is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2006). Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6

[edit] External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• IUCN Red List