Painted Stork
Mycteria leucocephala
The first time I was visiting Kokkarebellur I imagined it to be like other bird sanctuaries I've seen. I thought I'll see an isolated water body with some waders around. What I ended up seeing was hundreds of Storks and Pelicans roosting right in the middle of a bustling typical south-Indian village. We'll never know when why the birds chose this place but you can tell the people take pride in the quirkiness of this place. That pride drives keeps these birds safe and I hope the pan-species bond lives forever.
Birding is full of heady unexpected moments, but few can compare to my first sighting of hundreds of raucous Painted Storks roosting on every available branch on every available tree in Kokkarebellur.
Family:
Ciconiidae
Name in Kannada: ದಾಸ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆ or ಬಣ್ಣದ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆ
Diet: Reptiles, Small_mammals, Fish