Painted stork:
After a four-year hiatus, a pair of painted storks has been spotted in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR).
- It is a large wading bird belonging to the stork family.
- These birds are found across the plains of tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent extending into Southeast Asia, south of the Himalayas.
- They favor freshwater wetlands, but they also frequent irrigation canals and agricultural fields, particularly during the monsoon when rice fields are flooded.
- They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding.
- Painted storks are carnivores (piscivores).
- Their diet consists mainly of small fish, but also crustaceans, amphibians, insects, and reptiles.
- Painted storks are the only storks within the genus Mycteria that have a black pectoral band.
- Males and females are not sexually dimorphic; however, male painted storks tend to be slightly larger than female storks.
- Conservation Status: It is classified as near threatened under the IUCN Red List
