Giant stork

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Giant stork
Female giant stork near Bharatpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan

Female giant stork near Bharatpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Ciconiiformes
Family : Storks (Ciconiidae)
Genre : Large storks ( Ephippiorhynchus )
Type : Giant stork
Scientific name
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
( Latham , 1790)

The giant stork or large stork ( Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ) is one of the two species in the genus of the large stork ( Ephippiorhynchus ). It is a showy, very large, black and white feathered stork with a glossy black neck and head and a very long beak.

The IUCN has the giant stork at the near threatened early warning level , as the population in Asia has declined since the mid-1950s. The population in Australia, however, is considered stable. The population is estimated at 10,000 to 21,000 sexually mature individuals.

Until 1985 the species was placed in the genus Xenorhynchus because it lacked the beak attachment that is characteristic of the saddle stork ( Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ).

features

The giant stork reaches a body length of 110 to 137 centimeters. The beak takes up 30 centimeters. The wingspan is 190 to 218 centimeters.

The plumage on the head, neck and swinging feathers is black, the rest is white. The color of the beak is black and the legs light red. Except for the yellow iris of the female and the brown of the male, both sexes look the same. The young birds have light brown plumage and dark legs.

A pair of giant storks with a not yet colored young bird (right)

Giant storks live individually, in pairs, or in small family groups and usually stay near water. They usually walk very slowly, with a maximum of one step per second. The step size is 80 centimeters to 1.2 meters. Fleeing prey is also pursued in a faster run, with the wings spread out. Giant storks often fly up from a standing position. The storks stand upright with slightly raised beak and plumage, they then lean forward and lower their neck and head, open their wings and jump off. Startled storks also fly up from the run, while they run a few steps flapping their wings. Like most storks, the giant stork flies with its neck stretched out.

Distribution, habitat and existence

Distribution map of the giant stork
Giant stork in Jabiru
Male specimen in Faridabad district in the Indian state of Haryana
Giant stork in Queensland

The giant stork is the only stork living in the Indo-Australian region. It is widespread there from South India via Vietnam to Australia.

It used to be common in Pakistan and brooded in the Indus delta until the 1970s, now only a few individuals live there, in India it is widespread, but generally a rare bird everywhere, in Bangladesh it only occurs and occurs as a random visitor There are fewer than fifty sexually mature individuals in Sri Lanka. It is now almost extinct in Thailand and Laos. It used to be relatively common in Cambodia , but now only a few birds breed there. The giant stork is still common in Papua New Guinea. In Australia the main area of ​​distribution is the north. Most of the giant storks are found there, but the population in Southeast Asia is estimated to be less than 1,000 individuals.

The habitat of the giant stork are wetlands in the tropical and subtropical climatic zone. It also inhabits estuaries as well as grasslands and loosely forested regions. For its food search it needs fresh and salt water with a water depth of up to 0.5 meters. However, he prefers habitats with fresh water. Small artificial bodies of water such as water reservoirs and sewage fields are also used by the giant stork.

In Australia, habitat has decreased due to increasing drainage. The introduced mimosa species Mimosa pigra is also problematic . The large number of wild water buffalo , which in the marshland on Australia's north coast basically represents a serious ecological problem, also has a negative effect . Water buffalo amplify by their trails and their Suhlen the soil erosion , modified by its eating behavior, the composition of the local flora and facilitate by their Suhlen the intrusion of saltwater into freshwater habitats . In doing so, they changed their habitat so sustainably that areas that represent a suitable habitat for giant storks are in decline.

In Australia, giant storks are predominantly resident birds. They are predominantly young birds that migrate very far from their place of birth and are observed in regions that usually do not belong to the range.

Reproduction

The reproduction of the giant stork has not yet been adequately investigated. The giant stork breeds individually either in wetlands or in their peripheral zone. The exact breeding season is not known, in the Northern Territory the peak of the breeding season is believed to be April to June.

Giant storks lay their nests in trees. The nest tree is usually in the water, the nest is usually very high up in the treetop. In mangrove swamps, nests are occasionally only four meters high. The nest is very large and measures between 1.2 and 2 meters in diameter. It is built from thin branches and sticks and covered with dry grass and reeds. Often the nest is completely flat. Presumably, both parent birds are involved in building the nest. The female lays 3 - 5 eggs in clumps with a diameter of 2 meters. Both parents share the brooding and rearing of the young.

nutrition

The food spectrum of the giant stork has not yet been conclusively investigated. The diet consists of fish, frogs, large insects but also small birds, snakes, lizards and rodents. While foraging for food, the giant stork usually walks very slowly through the shallow water zone and searches the water surface and underwater vegetation with its beak. The beak is kept slightly open. If he finds prey under the surface of the water, the beak closes very quickly. The head is raised and the prey is swallowed with a backward movement of the head.

Occasionally the giant stork stands motionless and waits for prey to come close. If it catches snakes, they are shaken by violent head movements and hit on the ground until they are dead. You will then be swallowed whole. Giant storks drink by bending down, drinking water with their beak open, lifting their head in a horizontal position, and then swallowing the water. Occasionally they also carry water to their nest and use it to wet eggs and young animals.

Duration

In Australia the species is considered endangered. Danger comes from water pollution, habitat destruction and disturbance by humans in breeding areas.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies:

  • Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus asiaticus
  • Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus australis

supporting documents

literature

  • PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 1, Ratites to Ducks, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, ISBN 0195530683 .

Web links

Commons : Giant Stork ( Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Giant Stork , accessed April 25, 2011
  2. ↑ Higgins, p. 1064
  3. ^ Higgins, p. 1065
  4. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Giant Stork , accessed April 25, 2011
  5. ^ Higgins, p. 1065
  6. ^ Higgins, p. 1067
  7. ↑ Higgins, p. 1066
  8. ↑ Higgins, p. 1066