Summary ⁵

The Asian Openbill or Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. Young birds are born without this gap which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

It is a rare vagrant to Singapore. The first record for Singapore was in Jan 2013.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Tan Kok Hui, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tan Kok Hui
2. (c) Tan Kok Hui, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://picasaweb.google.com/107386319100895694067/OurBirdingTrips04?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDz5oS70oSHbg#5840564676876450546
3. (c) Tan Kok Hui, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://picasaweb.google.com/107386319100895694067/OurBirdingTrips04?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDz5oS70oSHbg#5840564688478594226
4. (c) Tan Kok Hui, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://picasaweb.google.com/107386319100895694067/OurBirdingTrips04?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDz5oS70oSHbg#5840564700337698802
5. Adapted by Tan Kok Hui from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastomus_oscitans

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

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