Openbill Strok

Openbill Strok

These are strange looking storks that appear to have a birth defect. It is the long beak that doesn't not close that gives this stork its descriptive name. Their main preferred food source are aquatic snails and it is thought that the open bill helps this bird with finding and eating them. The edges of their bills have a fine hair brush like feature that is useful in managing a slippery snail shell. The bill is used like a nutcracker and once the snails shell has been removed it eats what is inside.

The Openbill Stork can perform this trick under water. Young chicks do not have the distinctive gap between their beaks. It develops as they grow. Just like the Painted Stork it uses its large wings to soar on the rising late morning thermals to gain height and find new feeding areas. Although it prefers to eat snails the Openbill Stork will also munch on frogs, water snakes, fish and other aquatic insects. Both male and female storks take turn in sitting on the eggs. The female normally lays between two to four eggs. They build a platform style nest high up in the tree tops near water with other water birds. The eggs hatch after twenty five days.