Asian Openbill
Anastomus oscitans
A medium-sized stork of South and Southeast Asian wetlands, common around marshes, rice paddies, lakes, and slow rivers. It feeds mainly on aquatic snails, using the distinctive gap between the mandibles to manipulate shells and remove the soft body inside. Adults fly strongly between feeding areas and nesting colonies, and defend space with pecks, wing blows, and bill clattering. The bill gap is a specialized feeding adaptation rather than an injury or deformity.
- Type
- Wing
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Asian Openbill