#anastomus

[herpsandbirds]

Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans), EAT A TASTY SNAIL!!!, family Ciconiidae, order Ciconiiformes, Singapore

photograph by Paulo Tan Tai Kwee

[snototter]

An African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) forages for food in Chobe National Park, Botswana

by Dale Harding

[birdblues]

Asian Openbill Stork

[askdrzinasia]

No chance keeping the beak shut

Ready to land for for the weekend, open for great food and drink.

This openbill stork is a large wading bird that cannot shut up!

That is, the beak for adults has an opening between an arched upper mandible and a curved lower one. It means it is open all the time. The chicken and young birds do not have this opening. This evolution is thought to make it easier to eat their main prey: snails!

Change into something more stylish

The adults dress up for mating season, during which they are mostly white with black wings and tail. With red legs. Outside that season they are mostly grey, with grey/pinkish legs and feet.

These storks normally live in flocks. They are among the smaller types storks, with an height of max 68 cm and 81 cm long.

They are exceptional fliers and young birds have been found to travel up to 1500 km after fledgling.

Not threaten

This stork is common from Southern Viet Nam in a wide geographic belt including Cambodia, Thailand and Burma/Myanmar and the sub-continent up to Pakistan.

During the colonial times, this stork was hunted for meat, called the "beef-steak bird".

More on the Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans)

[inatungulates]

Common waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus

With marabou stork Leptoptilos cruminifer (midground, walking), saddle-billed stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis (midground, wings spread), spur-winged goose Plectropterus gambensis (background, between/behind waterbucks and storks), African openbill Anastomus lamelligerus (right background), African spoonbill Platalea alba (far background)

Observed by lemoncul, CC BY-NC

[birding-with-tortoise]

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Sighted at Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, India

[yotarosuite]

"Asian Openbill"

Good morning from Water side.

Fujifilm X-T5 / Tamron 150-500mm f5-6.7 photo by yotarosuite

@ Bangkok Thailand

[alpinebirdingworld-blog]

Bird Watching Tour in China: Discover The Best Places

The winter season makes us indeed lazy, but choosing to get out of the cozy blanket and head for a bird watching tour in China will never be a regretful experience.

It is time to escape the daily busy schedule and head to China’s top destination for bird watching. China is home to various bird species that are a real treat to the eyes of a bird enthusiast.

Furthermore, bird watching is one of the best ways to give your mind a dose of peace and refresh your inner soul. So, are you confused about which places to explore in China for bird watching? Continue reading the article below.

So, let’s get started!

Rongcheng

Rongcheng is said to be the largest Swan habitat, covering an area of about 10,500 hectares. It is one of the top swan lakes in the world and is perfect for birding trips in China. As soon as the winter season knocks on the door, thousands of swans from Siberia fly towards Rongcheng Swan Lake for wintering. Watch the swans dancing, singing and walking with your naked eyes, which promises an enchanting experience overall.

Xinjiang Bayanbulak Swan National Reserve

Towards 400km northwest of Korla, high-altitude wetlands form the second-largest grassland area in China, with the Kaidu River flowing through it. In addition to this, it is known to be the famous Xinjiang Swan Lake, which is the natural habitat for the massive population of wild swans. Don’t forget to capture some of the captivating moments when the bird’s wings are fanning.

Poyang Lake

This lake is a must-watch destination for birding trips in China. It falls in the Jiangxi Province. The place holds around 310 species of birds and is famous for being the “Kingdom of the Stork.” You will come across a huge number of rare birds here, like Grus leucogeranus, Grus japonesus, and many more. Along with this, the place is also popular as the largest migratory bird wintering area in Asia since around 1 lakh birds fly here during the winter season.

Dongtan Wetland

Another best place for bird watching tour in China is Dongtan Wetland on Chongming Island. It is about 100 km away from downtown Shanghai. Being one of the most preferred winter birding parks, it spreads around 24 square kilometres. Every year, from November to February, the place holds an annual birding festival, welcoming the largest number of birds.

Yunnan

This place provides a warm and mild climate in winter. Red-billed gulls from Siberia have spent their winters here for almost 30 years. For birding trips in China, add Dianchi Lake and Chuhu Park to your bucket list in Yunnan. Head to the Botanical Garden in Xishuangbanna, which has a tropical climate, to watch the Crimson Sunbird and Anastomus Oscitans from close by. However, the Napa Lake wetlands in Shangri La are home to noble birds like black-necked cranes, attracting numerous photographers worldwide.

Wrap Up Time

Finally, these were the places ideal for bird watching tour in China. You should add these destinations to your bucket list and make sure to visit them once you land in this country. Don’t forget to carry your cameras as you are going to capture the most beautiful birds behind the lens.

[plasmacrowcodile]

Echoed Radiance

Echoed Radiant Anastomus

[amandi-mga2023mi6021]

Research: Wetlands and the Bellanwila Attidiya Bird Sanctuary

Research the bird sanctuary because it is heavily featured in the piece. What does the sanctuary look and sound like? What do wetlands generally look like? I can use this to design my own wetlands for my animation. Furthermore, through researching the different birds found at the sanctuary, I can finally decide on what the bird for my final piece will be.

Initially I was leaning more towards the bird being a heron, but I'm worried this might be too similar to The Boy and the Heron which deals with the same themes.

Wetlands

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils.

Types of Wetlands

Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation and other factors, including human disturbance. Two general categories of wetlands are recognized: coastal or tidal wetlands and inland or non-tidal wetlands.

Mangroves and Mangrove Forests

A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse due to convergent evolution in several plant families.

There are about 80 different species of mangrove trees. All of these trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate. Mangrove forests only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

Many mangrove forests can be recognized by their dense tangle of prop roots that make the trees appear to be standing on stilts above the water. This tangle of roots allows the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides, which means that most mangroves get flooded at least twice per day. The roots also slow the movement of tidal waters, causing sediments to settle out of the water and build up the muddy bottom.

The Bellanwila Attidiya Bird Sanctuary

Spanning 372 hectares, the Bellanwila Attidiya Bird sanctuary is a protected forested wetland under the Department of Wildlife Conservation. It includes mangrove and freshwater marshes.

According to a study done by the Society for Environmental Education, there are some 166 species of birds sighted in the area of which most are residential and around 40 migratory. The area also has a recorded 71 species of butterflies and 44 species of fish.

There have been reports of crocodiles inhabiting the canals now and then. There are also small mammals like the fishing cat here. Some have recorded sighting jackals too.

The place also has a good view of Siripada - also known as Adam’s Peak - in the distance.

Although the sanctuary is a natural water retention area, it has now failed to absorb the excess water and control floods due to illegal land filling and encroachments.

Bellanwila-Attidiya's marshy lands was declared as a sanctuary on July 25, 1990 but the Department of Wildlife Conservation's failure to protect it over the years has reduced the number of migrant and endemic birds.

Online Catalogue of Birds Spotted Here

Possible Bird Species for My Narrative

Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber)

Sources

https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetland#:~:text=Wetlands%20are%20areas%20where%20water,including%20during%20the%20growing%20season.

(No date a) What is a wetland? and 8 other wetland facts | stories | WWF. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-is-a-wetland-and-8-other-wetland-facts (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

US Department of Commerce, N.O. and A.A. (2009) What is a mangrove forest?, What is a ‘mangrove’ forest? Available at: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mangroves.html (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Mangrove (2025) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Amazinglanka (2024) Bellanwila - Attidiya Bird Sanctuary, AmazingLanka.com | Exploring Sri Lanka. Available at: https://amazinglanka.com/wp/bellanwila-attidiya-sanctuary/ (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Attidiya Bird Sanctuary (no date) Lakpura LLC. Available at: https://lk.lakpura.com/pages/attidiya-bird-sanctuary (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

(No date) Single Tour. Available at: https://touristboard.wp.gov.lk/destination.php?destid=120 (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Kannangara, N. (2013) ‘Bellanwila Attidiya Sanctuary Under Threat’, The Sunday Leader, 13 January. Available at: https://lpr.adb.org/sites/default/files/event/1690/lka-ttt-2018-sessions-15-16-field-trip-bellanwila-attidiya-sanctuary-under-threat-sunday-leader.pdf (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Fishing cat (2021) Small Cat Advocacy and Research (SCAR). Available at: https://scar.lk/portfolio/fishing-cat/ (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

Bird list - attidiya bird sanctuary, Kesbewa, Colombo, Sri Lanka - ebird hotspot (no date) eBird. Available at: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4842465/bird-list?yr=all (Accessed: 31 January 2025).

[birds-of-the-days]

Today's bird is the African openbill!

The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species of stork from the family Ciconiidae. It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar. This species is considered common to locally abundant across its range, although it has a patchy distribution. Some experts consider there to be two sub-species, A. l. lamelligerus distributed on the continent and A. l. madagascariensis living on the island of Madagascar. Scientists distinguish between the two sub-species due to the more pronounced longitudinal ridges on the bills of adult A. l. madagascariensis. The Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) found in Asia is the African openbill’s closest relative. The two species share the same notably large bill of a peculiar shape that gives them their name.

It is considered a least concern species

[herpsandbirds]

Asian Openbill Storks (Anastomus oscitans), family Ciconiidae, order Ciconiiformes, Selangor, Malaysia

photograph by Pak Badrul

[hello-birdies]

Anastomus oscitans by Vijay

[notesfromasmallworld]

Ready to land for for the weekend, open for great food and drink. This openbill stork is a large wading bird that cannot shut up! That is, the bill for adults has an opening in the middle that is always open, an evolution making it easier to eat their main prey: snails! This stork is common from Cambodia in a wide geographic belt including Malaysia and the sub-continent up to Pakistan. Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_openbill #bangkokzoo #lostforever #2018 #Asian #openbill #stork #Anastomus #oscitans # wading #snaileater #landing #blackandwhite (ved Dusit Zoo, Bangkok, Thailand) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIFswK-pDzP/?igshid=w1ewk1dqwzue

[nunoxaviermoreira]

Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans) - Sungai Batu mangroves, Merbok, Kedah, Malaysia - Feb 2020 by Dis da fi we 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 or 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. https://flic.kr/p/2iHKVQw

[terranlifeform]

African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) at Kruger National Park in South Africa

Derek Keats