Is with long neck and long leg. The body is white alternating with black except for the neck and the area under the tail which are white. If it does not fully grow up, the body will be brown and the hair on its neck will be long and fluffy.
The White-necked Stork has a hometown in Africa, and India. In the past, it can be found in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, and Philippines. For Thailand in the past, it can be found in every region in the swamp or the rice field which has water but at present it cannot be seen. In the South especially in Chumporn and Tung Song, it may sometimes be seen.The White-necked Stork breeds and lays the eggs approximately in December. It builds the nest in a group on the tall branch which grows separately but not far away from the swamp. It lays 3 to 4 eggs each time. HABITAT AND ECOLOGY Habitat The species occurs in natural wetland habitats such as in savanna and grassland, including rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, water-holes, lagoons, dams, flood plains, marshes, and freshwater and peat swamp forests, whilst also using artificial habitats such as rice paddy-fields, flooded pastures, and cultivated fields (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Sundar 2006). The species is also known to use man-made, urban structures such as mobile-towers for nesting, potentially due to their height and increased visibility (Vaghela et al. 2015, G. Sundar in litt. 2020). It is regular in light woodland or forest clearings in Indochina, however may avoid mature forests (del Hoyo et al. 2020). It also frequents coastal mudflats or coral reefs, and can be found up to 1,400 m in Sulawesi and 1,250 m in Nepal (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Grimmett et al. 1998). It is therefore considered that the species is not wholly reliant on undisturbed habitats (G. Sundar in litt. 2020).
The White-necked Stork eats fish, crab, shrimp, frog, tadpole, and some reptiles. Diet The species is predominantly carnivorous, its diet consisting of fish, frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, large insects and larvae, crabs, molluscs and marine invertebrates (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Lives in pairs, does not like to stay in a troop. It is very good at clinging on the branch. It seeks for the food in the day time around the plain area swamp. Behaviour In India the species tends to breed during the rains (Hancock et al. 1992) (between July and September in the south and December to March in the north). The species breeds in solitary pairs (del Hoyo et al. 1992). When not breeding the species is normally seen solitarily or in pairs, but will gather in flocks up to at least 80 at permanent natural or man-made wetlands in dry landscapes (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Pande et al. 2007).
Conservation Actions Underway Surveys of wetland birds have captured data on this species, and it occurs in numerous protected areas. It is also listed under Schedule-IV of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 in India (State of India's Birds 2020). A research and conservation project was also initiated in Nepal from November 2016 aiming to implement a variety of tools, including education campaigns across 50 schools and 20 social groups (benefiting 3,500 individuals), house visits to raise awareness, bird identification training, bird guiding trips, imposing hunting equipment removal, encouraging campaigns through photography, creating connectivity between conservation science and local culture, and imposing national incentives (including the creation of two Community Based Bird Conservation Units in the districts of Jagadishpur and Kudan with the District Forest Offices of Kapilvastu; Ghimire and Pandey 2018). Conservation Actions Proposed Carry out coordinated surveys to assess the total population size and trend. Conduct research to investigate the true impact of hunting (G. Sundar in litt. 2020). Conduct awareness-raising activities to reduce persecution, and try to bring in hunting regulations (J. W. Duckworth in litt. 2016). Protect additional areas of suitable habitat, especially nesting areas in South-East Asia. Investigate rapid declines of the South-east Asian population, relative to stability observed in the South Asian population (G. Sundar in litt. 2020). Implement skill based training that generate income for locals that improve livelihoods (Ghimire and Pandey 2018). Invest in individual and short-term projects more consistently and continue to raise awareness across local communities (Ghimire and Pandey 2018, R. Chaudhary in litt. 2020).
CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Ciconiiformes
FAMILY : Ciconiidae
GENUS : Ciconia
SPECIES : Asian Woollyneck (Ciconia episcopus)
Conservation status : Near Threatened
Breeding site The nest is a large stick platform built 10-30 m (and sometimes up to 50 m) above the ground or over water, on a fork of a horizontal branch in a tall tree (Hancock et al. 1992, del Hoyo et al. 1992). It is a solitary nester, with nesting pairs thought to be widely scattered during any one breeding season (S. Subramanya in litt. 2020). It may make local movements upwards along river courses in search of nest sites (H. S. Baral and C. Inskipp in litt. 2016). It is also known to breed on farmlands with high success rates, as well as near urbanised areas, although this may be in lower numbers (G. Sundar in litt. 2020).
The White-necked Stork is a large sized bird. It has the size of approximately 91 centimeters.
Update : 11 April 2017
