Asian Openbill
A species of Openbills Scientific name : Anastomus oscitans Genus : Openbills
Asian Openbill, A species of Openbills
Botanical name: Anastomus oscitans
Genus: Openbills
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Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Manvendra Bhangui from Chennai, India , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The Asian openbill stork is predominantly greyish (non-breeding season) or white (breeding season) with glossy black wings and tail that have a green or purple sheen. The name is derived from the distinctive gap formed between the recurved lower and arched upper mandible of the beak in adult birds. Young birds do not have this gap. The cutting edges of the mandible have a fine brush like structure that is thought to give them better grip on the shells of snails. The tail consists of twelve feathers and the preen gland has a tuft. The mantle is black and the bill is horn-grey. At a distance, they can appear somewhat like a white stork or Oriental stork. The short legs are pinkish to grey, reddish prior to breeding. Non-breeding birds have a smoky grey wings and back instead of white. Young birds are brownish-grey and have a brownish mantle. Like other storks, the Asian openbill is a broad-winged soaring bird, which relies on moving between thermals of hot air for sustained flight. They are usually found in flocks but single birds are not uncommon. Like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. It is relatively small for a stork and stands at 68 cm height (81 cm long). 
Size
81 cm
Colors
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
18 years
Feeding Habits
Asian Openbill primarily feed on large molluscs like Pila snails. Utilizing their specialized bills, they extract snail bodies underwater, occasionally consuming frogs, insects, and water snakes. These birds forage in shallow waters, favoring natural marshes and agricultural landscapes, displaying a unique bill-tip technique to handle hard shells even without visual aid.
Habitat
The primary habitat of asian Openbill encompasses a variety of inland wetlands, which are preferred over river banks and tidal flats. These wetlands include lakes, marshes, canals, and rivers, as well as agricultural landscapes like crop fields, irrigation systems, and seasonal marshes. The species also adapts to human proximity, often foraging in paddy fields and occasionally in recently ploughed fields or near human settlements. Although asian Openbill can be found up to elevations of 3840 m in southwest China, they are predominantly widespread in broader regions such as South Asia and Southeast Asia. The birds demonstrate significant dispersal capabilities, sometimes being affected by disorientation near lighthouses or undertaking extensive post-fledging dispersion.
Dite type
Aquatic invertebrate eater
People often ask
General Info
Distribution Area
The usual foraging habitats are inland wetlands and are only rarely seen along river banks and tidal flats. On agricultural landscapes, birds forage in crop fields, irrigation canals, and in seasonal marshes. Birds may move widely in response to habitat conditions. Young birds also disperse widely after fledging. Individuals ringed at Bharatpur in India have been recovered 800 km east and a bird ringed in Thailand has been recovered 1500 km west in Bangladesh. Storks are regularly disoriented by lighthouses along the southeast coast of India on overcast nights between August and September. The species is very rare in the Sind and Punjab regions of Pakistan, but widespread and common in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By Manvendra Bhangui from Chennai, India , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Scientific Classification
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