Painted Stork

In the past the species has been placed in the genera Ibis, Tantalus and Pseudotantalus. The slight curve to the beak led them to be considered as a relative of the ibises. The older genus names were based on Greek mythology where Tantalus was punished by having to stand in a pool of water. T C Jerdon called it the "Pelican Ibis". Later studies placed along with the wood-storks in the genus Mycteria, members of which have similar bill structure and share a common feeding behaviour of sweeping their half-open bill from side to side inside water as they wade and their evolutionary affinity has been confirmed by sequence based studies.

The painted stork is widely distributed over the plains of Asia. They are found south of the Himalayan ranges and are bounded on the west by the Indus River system where they are rare and extend eastwards into Southeast Asia. They are absent from very dry or desert regions, dense forests and the higher hill regions. They are rare in most of Kerala and the species appears to have expanded into that region only in the 1990s. They prefer freshwater wetlands in all seasons, but also use irrigation canals and crop fields, particularly flooded rice fields during the monsoon. They are resident in most regions but make seasonal movements. Young birds may disperse far from their breeding sites as demonstrated by a juvenile ringed at a nest in Keoladeo National Park that was recovered 800 kilometres away at Chilka in eastern India. Breeding is always on large trees, usually in areas where nesting trees are secured over long periods of time, including in wetland reserves, Painted_stork_(Mycteria_Leucocephala)_in_flight.jpg Painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala) in flight Pearaing.jpg

Painted storks feed in groups in shallow wetlands, crop fields and irrigation canals. The maximum success of finding prey was at 7 cm of water depth at Keoladeo National Park. 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 walk 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. Painted storks in the Delhi region were observed eating fish, while those in Kokrebellur in south India fed nestlings with frogs, crabs, large insects and grasshoppers. Flock sizes in agricultural landscapes are mostly small ( Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) catching fish 1 of 3.jpg| Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) catching fish 2 of 3.jpg|catching fish Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) catching fish 3 of 3.jpg|

Painted stork nesting colonies often become centres of tourist attraction due to their large size and colour. Particularly well-known nest sites close to human settlements are in the south Indian villages of Kokrebellur and Veerapura. In Kokrebellur, the birds nest within the trees in the village forming mixed nesting colonies with the spot-billed pelican. The local people provide security to these birds during the brief nesting season when the birds arrive in October and until they leave the village after a couple of months. Another well-known colony that has been studied since the 1960s is the one inside the Delhi Zoological Park where the birds arrive about 30–40 days after the onset of the monsoons in Delhi. This colony is made up of 300 to 600 wild birds that make use of the trees within the artificial islands inside the zoo. Another colony of 26-96 nests is known from the Sultanpur National Park in Haryana, India where years with increased rainfall see more storks nesting. The largest north-Indian breeding population is known from Keoladeo-Ghana National Park that is estimated to have 2,500 nests. Uppalapadu village near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Kolleru, Gowtavaram Village in Andhra Pradesh and Ranganathittu are among the many other breeding colonies known from southern India. Captive birds are known to breed readily when provided with nesting materials and platforms. The largest secure population is found in India. Birds in Pakistan along the Indus River system are endangered and chicks at their nests are taken away for the bird trade. The species was nearly decimated in Thailand while small populations are known from Cambodia and Vietnam. There are some concerns for the closely related milky stork owing to hybridization with the painted stork, particularly in zoos. Hybrids have been recorded in the wild in Cambodia and in several zoos including those at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Zoo and Bangkok. Hybridization with lesser adjutant storks have also been recorded in several zoos, especially at the Colombo Zoo, Sri Lanka where a male painted stork and female lesser adjutant mated and reared chicks several times. File:Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in Uppalpadu, AP W IMG 3314.jpg|Adults at nest site (Uppalapadu, India). Note white on legs due to urohidrosis. File:Painted Stork. AMSM5018 PSTO.jpg|Painted Stork at Jamnagar, India File:PaintedStorkFlockResting.jpg|A mixed-age flock resting in a fallow field File:Painted Stork - Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary - IMG 3748.jpg|Adult in a nest (Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala, India)