ලතුවැකියා[Lathuwakiya]/Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

Common breeding resident in tanks, marshes, and lagoons of dry lowlands. Small introduced (Escaped birds from the Dehiwela zoo) population also present in Colombo and nearby wetlands. It lives as small parties though sometime solitary individuals as well as large flocks can be seen. Its prey consists of fish, frogs, water snakes, crabs, lizards etc. G.M. Henry noted a strange behavior of this stork of ‘whitewashing’ its legs, while at rest, by squirting excreta over them (Henry G.M. 1998). Painted Stork breeds during early months of the year colonially with other water birds on rather small nest made out of sticks place on top of a tree usually growing in water. 

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