Back Cover Story:

Together we'll build our home

This is no painting! Our photographer Susantha Wejegunasekera captured these painted storks on the bund of the Yala lagoon collecting building material to build a new home .

Painted storks

The painted stork, also known as the janghil or dokh, is very good at adapting to its natural environment. Painted storks search for fish in shallow waters. With their bills half open and shaking their heads back and forth, they will occasionally use a wing to direct the fish toward their open bill. They nest in colonies with other storks, ibises, spoonbills, cormorants and herons.

Male storks gather most of the sticks for nest building. While young storks are able to call loudly, by 18 months they become practically voiceless. The painted stork can live 28 years in captivity.

Scientific Name - Mycteria leucocephala

Lifespan- 20-28 years

Diet-Fish

Carnivore.

Predators and Threats- Tigers, leopards, hyenas, crocodiles, and humans.

Habitat- Freshwater marshes, ponds and flooded fields; India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, eastern China, Thailand, Kampuchea and Vietnam. -Internet