Black-necked Stork

The black-necked stork is a tall, long-necked stork standing 110–137cm with a wingspan of 190–218cm. Adults have a glossy bluish-black head, neck, secondaries and tail with a coppery-brown crown, a bright white back and belly, bright red legs and a heavy black bill with a slightly concave upper edge. The sexes are identical except for the eye: females have a yellow iris and males a dark brown one. Juveniles are brownish, with a smaller, straighter bill. In Australia it is called the jabiru (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in wetlands and near fields of crops such as rice and wheat, foraging for a wide range of animal prey, and it is one of the few storks that are strongly territorial both when feeding and when breeding. It is resident across the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia, with a separate population in Australia, and two subspecies are recognised. In India it is resident with a moderate range; SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term decline of about 60% and rates it a Moderate conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).