Woolly-necked Stork: Ciconia episcopus

Woolly-necked Stork
Ciconia episcopus



Woolly-necked Stork couple
Ciconia episcopus

 

Woolly-necked Stork, Bishop Stork: Ciconia episcopus. Local Name: Haji laq laq.

 

This photograph was taken from a seriously rocking boat on a gusty afternoon, and from a distance beyond comfortable range of my basic lens kit; hence, please excuse its quality. Had my hands full trying to get them in frame given they too were fidgety despite their studied sedentary ways.

 

About a metre in size, they have glossy black feathers on the back with wooly white neck and back of head. Top of head is black, as if wearing a skull cap typically. They have a heavy black bill which may have a reddish hue at the tip.

 

Solitary or in pairs, may sometimes be in small groups.

 

Found in wetlands and grasslands besides rivers etc., but seldom wades into water.

 

Asia and Africa main zones of existence. Rather sedentary with limited migratory habits.

 

In India tends to breed during the monsoon season in the southern parts and December to March in the north.

 

Nests are found atop tall trees with wide canopies and made of sticks and twigs like most other storks found in India such as Painted Storks, Open-bill Storks etc..

 

Main threat is Anthopogenic through habitat destruction, encroachment, fragmentation and shooting. Though numbers are dwindling, not considered endangered yet.

 

This was only my second sighting of these birds. Earlier, in a mixed population of nesting storks, I had spotted four of them among the many hundreds of storks at Keoladeo Ghana, Rajasthan, in November last. 

 

Photographed at Kumbhargaon, Maharashtra, India, on 19th January, 2014.

 

Camera used: Nikon D5100 DSLR with AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm VR Lens