Why in news
With the wetlands of Assam giving way to rapid urbanisation, the endangered greater adjutant storks are finding their survival to be a daily struggle
Its habitat is in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam
The biodiversity hotspots have given way to buildings due to rapid urbanisation and the habitat loss is a major threat for the survival of this bird species
The greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae
Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia, the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations; two in India, with the largest colony in Assam and a smaller one around Bhagalpur; and another breeding population in Cambodia
During the day, it soars in thermals along with vultures with whom it shares the habit of scavenging.
Loss of nesting and feeding habitat through the draining of wetlands, pollution and other disturbances, together with hunting and egg collection in the past has caused a massive decline in the population of this species.
The world population was estimated at between 1,360-1,510
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Forest, Grassland, Wetlands (inland), Artificial/Terrestrial
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