Leptoptilos dubius
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the lesser adjutant of Asia and the marabou stork of Africa. Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia, the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations; two in India, one in the north-eastern state of Assam and a smaller one around Bhagalpur; and another breeding population in Cambodia. They disperse widely after the breeding season. This large stork has a massive wedge-shaped bill, a bare head and a distinctive neck pouch. During the day, it soars in thermals along with vultures with whom it shares the habit of scavenging. They feed mainly on carrion and offal; however, they are opportunistic and will sometimes prey on vertebrates. The English name is derived from their stiff "military" gait when walking on the ground (see adjutant). Large numbers once lived in Asia, but they have declined (possibly due to improved sanitation) to the point of endangerment. The total population in 2008 was estimated at around a thousand individuals. In the 19th century, they were especially common in the city of Calcutta, where they were referred to as the "Calcutta adjutant" and included in the coat of arms for the city. Known locally as hargila (derived from the Assamese words har, 'bone', and gila, 'swallower', thus 'bone-swallower') and considered to be unclean birds, they were largely left undisturbed but sometimes hunted for the use of their meat in folk medicine. Valued as scavengers, they were once depicted in the logo of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arignar Anna Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Safari World | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Mysore Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chai Nat Bird Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Adjutant sighting in Guwahati on a given day, based on 119 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 185 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Adjutant in Guwahati on a given day, against under 5% in March to September, the lowest months. Those are among Guwahati's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 370 mm in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Adjutant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Guwahati, in our data
Guwahati is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Greater Adjutant sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Adjutant is recorded against all the birds logged in Guwahati (119 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
