Standing from a distance, heronries of painted storks look like cluttered dirty blobs of white on
the tree tops. One really has to strain his eyes to make out what exactly the entire scene
represents. A closer look brings in view spectacular ‘haunched up’ colony of large birds. Built on
trees standing in or near water, one might find as many as 10-20 nests on a single tree, almost
touching each other. Nests of cormorants, pelicans, egrets, open bill storks, white ibises can also
be found on the same tree.
Titled ‘dokh’ in Hindi, a stork is a massive bird with a yellow, long and heavy bill, slightly de-
curved near the tip. The plumage is white and closely barred, marked with glistening black above
and with a black band across the breast. Found In large parties of these birds can be found near
water bodies all over the subcontinent. It loves to eat fish, frog and snakes. A female lays 3-5
dull white eggs. The youngsters are brought up with great care and affection. Both the parents
share domestic responsibilities and the chicks are fed regularly.
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