Black-necked stork

Black-necked Stork
	Female with yellow and male with dark iris
Conservation status
	; Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
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 given the common name Jabiru in Australia. Despite similarities in appearance, the stork of this name in the Americas belongs to a different genus.

Adult female specimen in flight at the McArthur River in the Northern Territory of Australia

The Black-necked Stork is a quite large bird, typically 130-150 cm (51-60 inches) tall with a 230 cm (91 inches) wingspan. The average weight is around 4100 grams. 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. Small mammals, reptiles and small birds are also taken. 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 and Endangered in the Australian state of New South Wales at the southern tip of its range.

Range

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.

References

Template:IUCN2008 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

External links

Gallery

Male near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.
Female at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.
A Black-necked Stork in Perth Zoo
Female at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.