Mycteria leucocephala
Silhouette: Mathieu Basille · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.
This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis. The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour. The long tertials are tipped in bright pink and at rest they extend... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 9 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Agra | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Surat | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Mumbai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Johor Bahru | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Kota | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Mysuru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Rajkot | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Stork sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 114 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 77th most-seen of the 155 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.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Stork in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against about 10% in November to May, the lowest months. That is one of Minneriya National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 340 mm in November.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Painted Stork sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
8th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Painted Stork sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 8th at about 20%. The best odds are in Keoladeo National Park (India, about 80%), Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%) and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Ciconiidae
The closest relatives of the Painted Stork that you can see in Minneriya National Park (family Ciconiidae, Storks) are Asian Woolly-necked Stork (about 30%), Asian Openbill Stork (about 30%) and Lesser Adjutant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Painted Stork is recorded against all the birds logged in Minneriya National Park (114 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
