The Painted Stork An opportunist at the zoo

The zoo is home to many free living creatures too and birds’ top this list. As reported by Zoolander in an earlier feature - Airport in the Zoo, the zoo feeds fish to the pelicans daily. There are other opportunists too who come to snatch a free meal and painted storks are leaders of this set.

Visit Minneriya National Park; you would surely  see  hundreds of painted storks waiting on the edges of the Minneriya Tank like statues. Some of them who start feeling hungry would be wading in the shallow murky waters of Minneriya trying to catch a fish ot two. Visit the famous paradise sanctuaries for birds - Bundala or Kumana  - and wherever you go, this bird - the Painted Stork would be a soothing and relaxing sight. But you try to get closer, and they would take wing. However, there is one place where you can observe them very closely. You guessed correctly - it’s  the Zoo.

Living free

The painted storks at the zoo are not caged. They live freely in the old quarry pit and come into the feeding area everyday at around 2 O’clock. Yes - they do not miss this opportunity to get a free meal, earning them the reputation of being opportunists. It is not unfair to call them opportunists as the zoo’s give-away fish meal is meant mainly for the pelicans which visit the zoo following in the foot-steps (wing beats?) of their ancestors which were released from the zoo in the 1970s.
The painted stork is the most beautiful of the stork family. As its name indicates, the bird is colourful and looks very much nicer at close range. Painted storks have a long orange-yellow coloured bill with a down-curved tip. The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour. There is a distinctive black breast band with white scaly markings. The band continues into the underwing feathers and the white tips of the black coverts give it the appearance of white stripes running across the underwing lining. The rest of the body is whitish in adults and the primaries and secondaries are black with a greenish gloss. The legs are yellowish to red and have sow webbed feet to make it easier for these birds to live by wading in shallow waters. The short tail is black with a green gloss.

But the most beautiful feature of this stork is its long tertials or flying feathers that are tipped in bright pink -- and at rest they extend over the back and rump. As feathers overlap on each other, it makes a gradient effect adding more beauty to the bird. Perhaps this coloration has led to the bird  being named the painted stork.But this unique feature is barely visible at a distance. To observe the gradient effect on these pink feathers, you must visit the zoo to meet the painted stork at closer range. It is indeed one of nature’s beauties and you can’t resist clicking on these birds, when   seen at a close range.

At feeding time near 2 O’clock at the Old Quarry, you can meet up to 6 - 10 painted storks. Some of them are even bold enough to ascend to the top of the old hut setup in front of the quarry in search of the tractor which brings the basketfuls of fish to feed the pelicans, oblivious to the onlookers who are observing them closely. When the fish is being unloaded to the feeding area, they too join the feeding frenzy trying to grab a fish as if it is the last fish in the whole wide world. The painted storks get the upper hand against the pelicans, as they can use their height and aim straight for the fish, and bend and snatch in a quick motion.

Painted Storks in nature

Though the painted storks at the zoo have become opportunistic feeders, at other times they have to be wading in shallow water to catch fish. The painted stork finds fish, in a unique way. They sense the fish by touch, while slowly sweeping a half open bill which is submerged in water. They walk slowly and also disturb the water with their feet to flush fish. The movement of the feet flushes the fish and other little creatures such as frogs. Once the fleeing creature touches the open beak, it automatically closes, triggered by the slightest touch of the fleeing creature.

The preferred depth for painted stork for hunting fish is about 12 to 25 cm of water and deeper waters are avoided. Sometimes, they feed in groups in shallow wetlands and this is  something interesting to watch.  Zoologists have found that painted storks forage mainly during the day, but also may do so late at night under exceptional conditions. After they are fed, they  stand still on the shore for a long duration and the best place for seeing such a relaxing group is at the Minneriya tank.

The painted storks breed on trees along with other water birds. Their platform nests are typically placed on a tree on an island or in an otherwise undisturbed area. As observed by zoologists the best nesting sites are at the tops of trees and birds fight for these locations

Near threatened

Although the most abundant sites for the Asian storks can be found in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and even in China, their populations are said to be declining the world over and are tagged a ‘Near Threatened’ species. The painted stork still remains a common bird in Sri Lanka even recording sightings in suburban areas of the capital city of Colombo. This species is classified as ‘Near Threatened’ because it is thought to be undergoing a moderately rapid decline in population owing to hunting, loss of wetlands and pollution.

On your next visit to the zoo make a point to observe this beautiful stork at close range; also be mindful not to be a polluter of the environment or destroy their habitats, unnecessarily contributing to the decline of this bird specie.

Published on LakbimaNews on 17.06.2012 http://www.lakbimanews.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5806%3Acrowned-queens-of-the-night&Itemid=56