The feeding behaviour and diet of the Black-necked Stork 'Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus australis' in northern New South Wales

Title
The feeding behaviour and diet of the Black-necked Stork 'Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus australis' in northern New South Wales
Publication Date
2012
Author(s)
Clancy, Gregory P
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Australian Bird Study Association Inc
Place of publication
Australia
UNE publication id
une:11290
Abstract
Field studies were carried out over a two and three-quarter year period (2003-2005) to study the feeding behaviour and diet of free-flying Black-necked Storks 'Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus australis' (adults, immatures and juveniles) and the food fed to nestlings in New South Wales. Storks walked or stood in water searching visually, or walked in water constantly probing into water or reeds. The majority of time was spent hunting (70%) and most prey captures (68.4%) involved visual scanning rather than probing. Foraging occurred mostly in the early mornings and late afternoons with Storks loafing during the middle of the day, conforming to the behaviour of tropical storks. Storks fed on a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate prey caught in water, usually between 50-300 millimetres deep. Long-finned Eels 'Anguilla reinhardtii' contributed the most to biomass due to their large size. The most frequently caught prey comprised small unidentified animals, probably insects and molluscs. The stomach contents of nine Storks from the Australian Museum comprised mostly insects and other small invertebrates.
Link
Citation
Corella, 36(1), p. 17-23
ISSN
2203-4420
0155-0438
Start page
17
End page
23

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink