Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Some Observations on the Nest Site Selection, Nesting and Other Breeding Behaviors of Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubios) in the Flood Plains of Kosi River in District Bhagalpur, Bihar, India

D. N. Choudhary, Abdullah

Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology · pp. 19–31 · Published 21 Mar 2023

10.9734/ajee/2023/v20i2434

Abstract

Greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubios) is the largest and rarest stork belonging to the order Ciconiformes. It is one of the threatened bird species of the world and widely considered to be endangered. The present investigation was carried out to study the nest site selection, nest tree and other breeding behaviours of Greater adjutant stork on the flood plains of Kosi river in district Bhagalpur, Bihar, India in three breeding seasons from 2019 to 2021. Total 12 breeding colonies of Greater adjutant stork were recorded in 2019, 10 in 2020 and 2021 respectively. During these periods, 277 chicks were reared in 123 nests in 2019, 282 chicks in 126 nests in 2020 and 236 chicks in 105 nests in 2021 respectively. Most of the nest trees were located on the road side in and around the villages. Storks mainly selected Kadamb, Peepal, Pakar, Gamhar and Semel trees for the nest building but the Kadamb was the most preffered tree species. Nesting materials used by the GAS were mainly sticks, twigs and fresh leaves of Pigeon wood, Jalebia, Dhaincha, Jamun, Peepal, Gulmohar, Kadamb, and Semal tree. Nests were large spherical structure made of plant sticks mostly on the top of the tree and on the tip of large horizontal branches. Both the sexes alternately shared incubation and protection of the chicks after hatching. The parent birds also collected green leaves from nearby trees for cushioning the nest . The breeding season of Greater adjutant stork was recorded between September to April in Bihar. The incubation period was ranging between 37 to 39 days. Two to three chicks on one nest were common. The adult and juveniles finally vacated the nest before third week of April.

Greater adjutant stork nest tree nest site breeding Kosi flood plain

References (11)

  1. 1 Global Distribution and Conservation of Evolutionary Distinctness in Birds [DOI]
  2. 2 Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan
  3. 3 Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent
  4. 4 Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds [DOI]
  5. 5 New is not always better: low breeding success and different occupancy patterns in newly built nests of a long-lived species, the white storkCiconia ciconia [DOI]
  6. 6 Comparative Ethology of the Ciconiidae. Part 1. the Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos Cr Umenifer Us (Lesson) [DOI]
  7. 7 Nesting Ecology of the Greater Adjutant Stork in Assam, India [DOI]
  8. 8 Threatened birds of India
  9. 9 Firstever Breeding Record of Painted Stork along with Greater Adjutant Stork in the Flood Plains of Kosi River in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India [DOI]
  10. 10 Asian Journal of Conservation Biology [DOI]
  11. 11 BirdLife International [DOI]

Cited by 2

Breeding colony contraction of Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans): an eco-spatial monitoring from Keleghai River Bank, India

Mrinmay Mandal · Environmental Monitoring & Assessment · 2024

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

24

Page views

0

PDF downloads

4

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.