Greater Adjutant
A species of Adjutants and Marabou Scientific name : Leptoptilos dubius Genus : Adjutants and Marabou
Greater Adjutant, A species of Adjutants and Marabou
Botanical name: Leptoptilos dubius
Genus: Adjutants and Marabou
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Rofikul Islam 
Description
The greater adjutant is a huge bird, standing tall at 145–150 cm (4 ft 9 in–4 ft 11 in). The average length is 136 cm (4 ft 6 in) and average wingspan is 250 cm (8 ft 2 in). While no weights have been published for wild birds, the greater adjutant is among the largest of living storks, with published measurements overlapping with those of the jabiru (Jabiru mycteria), saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) and marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus). Juvenile greater adjutant storks in captivity weighed from 8 to 11 kg (18 to 24 lb). A greater adjutant after recuperating in captivity from after injury during nest collapse was found to weigh 4.71 kg (10.4 lb) as a nestling and to weigh 8 kg (18 lb) after reaching maturity and ready for re-release. For comparison, the heaviest known wild stork was a marabou stork scaling 8.9 kg (20 lb), with adult marabou ranging from 4–6.8 kg (8.8–15.0 lb) (females) and 5.6–8.9 kg (12–20 lb) (males). The huge bill, which averages 32.2 cm (12.7 in) long, is wedge-like and is pale grey with a darker base. The wing chord averages 80.5 cm (31.7 in), the tail 31.8 cm (12.5 in) and the tarsus 32.4 cm (12.8 in) in length. With the exception of the tarsus length, the standard measurements of the greater adjutant are on average greater than that of other stork species. A white collar ruff at the base of its bare yellow to red-skinned neck gives it a vulture-like appearance. In the breeding season, the pouch and neck become bright orange and the upper thighs of the grey legs turn reddish. Adults have a dark wing that contrasts with light grey secondary coverts. The underside of the body is whitish and the sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Juveniles are a duller version of the adult. The pendant inflatable pouch connects to the air passages and is not connected to the digestive tract. The exact function is unknown, but it is not involved in food storage as was sometimes believed. This was established in 1825 by Dr. John Adam, a student of Professor Robert Jameson, who dissected a specimen and found the two-layered pouch filled mainly with air. The only possible confusable species in the region is the smaller lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus), which lacks a pouch, prefers wetland habitats, has a lighter grey skull cap, a straighter edge to the upper mandible, and lacks the contrast between the grey secondary coverts and the dark wings. Like others storks, it lacks intrinsic muscles in the syrinx and produces sound mainly by bill-clattering, although low grunting, mooing or roaring sounds are made especially when nesting. The bill-clattering display is made with the bill raised high and differs from that of the closely related African marabou which holds the bill pointed downwards. 
Size
1.5 m
Feeding Habits
Greater Adjutant is an omnivorous scavenger, eating carrion, frogs, large insects, reptiles, and rodents. It hunts fish, birds, and occasionally feeds on garbage, including animal and human waste. A unique adaption is its bare head and neck, aiding in scavenging.
Habitat
The greater Adjutant primarily inhabits wetland areas including marshes, lakes, and flooded forests, as well as dry regions like grasslands and fallow fields. This species favors dry riversides, sandbanks, and river islands. During non-breeding seasons, greater Adjutant can be found in intertidal flats, mangroves, and wet grassland areas. They are often seen at the edges of urban areas, feeding at disposal sites and carcasses, and are known to nest near human settlements close to large wetlands.
Dite type
Scavenger
General Info
Behavior
The greater adjutant is usually seen singly or in small groups as it stalks about in shallow lakes or drying lake beds and garbage dumps. It is often found in the company of kites and vultures and will sometimes sit hunched still for long durations. They may also hold their wings outstretched, presumably to control their temperature. They soar on thermals using their large outstretched wings.
Distribution Area
This species was once a widespread winter visitor in the riverine plains of northern India. However, their breeding areas were largely unknown for a long time until a very large nesting colony was finally discovered in 1877 at Shwaygheen on the Sittaung River, Pegu, Burma. It was believed that the Indian birds bred there. This breeding colony, which also included spot-billed pelicans (Pelecanus philippensis), declined in size and entirely vanished by the 1930s. Subsequently, a nest site in Kaziranga was the only known breeding area until new sites were discovered in Assam, the Tonle Sap lake and in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. In 1989, the breeding population in Assam was estimated at about 115 birds, and between 1994 and 1996 the population in the Brahmaputra valley was considered to be about 600. A small colony with about 35 nests was discovered near Bhagalpur in 2006. The number increased to 75 nests in 2014. Fossil evidence suggests that the species possibly (since there were several other species in the genus that are now extinct) occurred in northern Vietnam around 6000 years ago. (circa 1887)] ]During the non-breeding season, storks in the Indian region disperse widely, mainly in the Gangetic Plains. Sightings from the Deccan region are rare. Records of flocks from further south, near Mahabalipuram, have been questioned. In the 1800s, adjutant storks were extremely common within the city of Calcutta during the summer and rainy season. These aggregations along the Ghats of Calcutta, however, declined and vanished altogether by the early 1900s. Improved sanitation has been suggested as a cause of their decline. Birds were recorded in Bangladesh in the 1850s, breeding somewhere in the Sundarbans, but have not been recorded subsequently.it lives in southeast Gujarat
Species Status
Loss of nesting and feeding habitat through the draining of wetlands, pollution and other disturbances, together with hunting and egg collection in the past has caused a massive decline in the population of this species. The world population was estimated at less than 1,000 individuals in 2008. The greater adjutant is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Conservation measures have included attempts to breed them in captivity and to reduce fatalities to young at their natural nesting sites. Nearly 15% of the chicks are killed when they fall off the nests and die of starvation, so some conservationists have used nets positioned below the nests to prevent injuries to falling young. These fallen birds are then fed and raised in enclosures for about five months and then released to join their wild siblings. In Kamrup district, Assam, which is home to one of the few large colonies of greater adjutants, outreach efforts including cultural and religious programming, especially aimed at village women, have rallied residents to conserve the birds. The locals, who formerly regarded the birds as pests, now see the storks as special and take pride in protecting them and the trees in which they breed. Locals have even added prayers for the safety of the storks to hymns, and included stork designs to the motifs used in traditional weaving. Similar measures have been used with success in other parts of India where adjutants breed.
Photo By Rofikul Islam 
Scientific Classification
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