Greater Adjutant

Leptoptilos dubius

The Greater Adjutant is a large bird with long legs and a big beak. It often stands tall and can be found near wetlands, where it looks for food like fish and frogs.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Greater Adjutant is a very large, grey-bodied stork with whitish underparts and a massive, wedge-shaped bill. It has a bare, reddish head and neck featuring a distinctive large gular pouch hanging from its throat.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAvesOrderCiconiiformesFamilyCiconiidaeGenusLeptoptilos

Greater Adjutant

Interesting facts

Once common, they are now one of the world's most endangered stork species.

Sometimes, Greater Adjutants swallow really large bones whole after eating carrion!

Their bare head and neck help them stay clean when eating messy meals.

These giant storks make loud clattering sounds with their huge bills, not vocal calls!

Special abilities

Greater Adjutants have a large gular pouch that helps them cool down by releasing excess body heat.

Greater Adjutants can tear apart large carcasses because they have a powerful, thick bill for tough scavenging.

Greater Adjutants can soar high in the sky for hours because their huge wings catch warm air currents.

Measurements & details

Length: 130-150 cm
Wingspan: 200-280 cm
Weight: 8-15 kg
Lifespan: 15-25 years
Top Speed: 45 km/h
Clutch Size: 3-4
Incubation: 28-35 days

Diet & Feeding

These giant birds are important scavengers, often eating rotting meat, but also hunting small animals.

Primary Foods

Carrion
Fish
Frogs
Reptiles
Insects

Foraging Method

Scavenging

Ecological connections

eats

Zebu Cattle

Bos indicus

cleans up carcasses of dead livestock.

hunts

Indian Bullfrog

Rana tigrina

preys on frogs in wetland habitats.

eaten by

Water Monitor

Varanus salvator

sometimes preys on eggs and chicks.

eats

House Crow

Corvus splendens

occasionally raids nests for eggs or chicks.

Traits

Feathered

Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.

Social

Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.

Scavenger

Scavengers consume dead organic matter, helping to decompose carcasses and other waste in the ecosystem.

Filter Feeder

Filter feeders obtain nutrients by straining suspended food particles and small organisms from water.

Piscivorous

Piscivorous organisms are animals that primarily subsist on a diet of fish.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.