Asian Openbill

The Asian openbill is a large stork, greyish in the non-breeding season and white when breeding, with glossy black wings and tail with a green or purple sheen. Adults have a distinctive gap between the arched upper and recurved lower mandibles, thought to help it handle snails, and fine brush-like edges to the bill that may improve grip on shells; young birds are born without the gap. The bill is horn-grey and the short legs pinkish to grey, turning reddish before breeding. Young birds are brownish-grey (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds mainly on snails, foraging in inland wetlands, crop fields, irrigation canals and seasonal marshes, and is seldom seen on river banks or tidal flats. Like other storks it is a broad-winged soaring bird that moves between thermals of warm air. Although resident, it makes long-distance movements in response to weather and food, and young birds disperse widely after fledging. Its scientific name means yawning. In India it is resident across a very large range; SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term increase of about 53% and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).