Asian Openbill Stork

Asian Openbill Stork

Anastomus oscitans

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Kunming

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

5 Verified sightings at Kunming
7,017 In all 25 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Asian Openbill Stork

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. Adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Young birds are born without this gap. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

The Asian openbill was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Pondichery, India. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Ardea oscitans in... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:14

India · 2014

© vir joshi · XC194954 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:12

Thailand · 2023

© FREDERIC Lionel · XC856558 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:10

Myanmar · 2017

© Thet Zaw Naing · XC686229 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~60%
3 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~50%
4 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
5 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
6 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
7 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
8 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
10 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
11 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
12 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
13 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
14 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
15 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
16 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
17 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
18 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
20 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
21 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
22 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
23 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
24 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
25 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Savar 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~50%
2 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
~50%
3 Vijayawada 🇮🇳 India
~50%
4 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~40%
5 Patna 🇮🇳 India
~40%
6 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~40%
7 Vasai-Virar 🇮🇳 India
~30%
8 Madurai 🇮🇳 India
~30%
9 Berhampore 🇮🇳 India
~30%
10 Surat 🇮🇳 India
~30%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Asian Openbill Stork in Kunming?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Openbill Stork sighting in Kunming on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 36th most-seen of the 99 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Asian Openbill Stork in Kunming?

March and June

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Openbill Stork in Kunming on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and July–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an Asian Openbill Stork?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Openbill Stork sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Kunming the best place to see an Asian Openbill Stork?

22nd of 56

Of the 56 cities where we can rate Asian Openbill Stork sightings, Kunming ranks 22nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Savar (Bangladesh, about 50%), Bangkok (Thailand, about 50%) and Vijayawada (India, about 50%).

Where does the Asian Openbill Stork sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Asian Openbill Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Kunming (5 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.

← Back to Kunming