ASIAN OPENBILL or Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus
oscitans) is a large wading bird in
the stork family Ciconiidae.
This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast
Asia. It is greyish white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have
a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. Young
birds are born without this gap which is thought to be an adaptation that aids
in the handling of snails, their main prey.
Although resident within their range,
they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.
It is relatively small for a stork and stands at
68 cm height (81 cm long).
common
in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.
The Asian Openbill feeds mainly on large molluscs,
especially Pilaspecies,
and they separate the shell from the body of the snail using the tip of the
beak.
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