Bird Guide

Painted Stork vs Yellow-billed Stork

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

Painted Stork

Mycteria leucocephala

Huge3.2 kgWetland

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 over the back and rump. There is a distinctive black breast band with white scaly markings. The band continues into the under-wing coverts and the white tips of the black coverts give it the appearance of white stripes running across the under-wing lining. The rest of the body is whitish in adults and the primaries and secondaries are black with a greenish gloss.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Painted Stork
Recorded by Halyn Betchkal · Call · Sultanpur National Park (Hut) Gurugram, Gurgaon Division, Haryana, India · CC0
Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY 3.0
Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis)

Yellow-billed Stork

Mycteria ibis

Huge2.2 kgWetland

This medium-sized stork stands 90–105 cm (35–41 in) tall. Its body is white with a short black tail that is glossed green and purple when freshly moulted. The bill is deep yellow, slightly decurved at the end and with a rounder cross-section than in other stork species outside the Mycteria. Feathers extend onto the head and neck just behind the eyes, with the face and forehead being covered by deep red skin. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but the male is larger and has a slightly longer heavier bill. Males and females weigh approximately 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) and 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) respectively.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Painted Stork and Yellow-billed Stork.