CreatureData

Painted stork

Mycteria leucocephala (Pennant, 1769)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a species in the family Ciconiidae, order Ciconiiformes. Recorded adults weigh 2.5 kg to 3.18 kg and live up to 28 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Photo: JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the painted stork

Weight
2.5 kg – 3.18 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
28 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
28.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2 – 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the painted stork

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the painted stork live?

Not recorded

What is the painted stork?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. The distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not long-distance migrants and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.

From the Wikipedia article “Painted stork” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Painted_stork&oldid=1382968740), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the painted stork endangered?

The painted stork is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the painted stork classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCiconiiformes
  5. familyCiconiidae
  6. genusMycteria
  7. SpeciesMycteria leucocephala (Pennant, 1769)

Synonyms Ibis leucocephalus, Nycteria leucocephala, Pseudotantolus leucocephalus, Tantalus leucocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (57)
  • لقلق مطليArabic
  • tántalu indiuAsturian
  • Дзюбач распісныBelarusian
  • Индийски щъркелBulgarian
  • রাঙা মানিকজোড়Bangla
  • Tantal IndezBreton
  • tàntal de l'ÍndiaCatalan
  • nesyt indickýCzech
  • ciconia amryliwWelsh
  • Indisk SkovstorkDanish
  • BuntstorchGerman
  • Hinda mikterioEsperanto
  • hindia cikonioEsperanto
  • Tántalo indioSpanish
  • Cigüeña pintadaSpanish
  • ehis-toonekurgEstonian
  • aasianiibishaikaraFinnish
  • Tantale indienFrench
  • Storc dathannachIrish
  • પીળીચાંચ ઢોંકGujarati
  • חסידן צבועHebrew
  • जांघिलHindi
  • šarena rodaCroatian
  • hindu gólyaHungarian
  • Cicogna pittataItalian
  • Tantalo variopintoItalian
  • インドトキコウJapanese
  • ચિત્રોડાkfr
  • ಬಣ್ಣದ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆKannada
  • indinis gandrėnasLithuanian
  • Raštuotasis žabirasLithuanian
  • raibais stārķisLatvian
  • വർണ്ണക്കൊക്ക്Malayalam
  • चित्रबलाकMarathi
  • लालटाउके गरुडNepali
  • Indische NimmerzatDutch
  • beltestorkNorwegian
  • ਚਿਤਰਾ ਲਮਢੀਂਗPunjabi
  • dławigad indyjskiPolish
  • cegonha-pintadaPortuguese
  • tântalo-indianoPortuguese
  • Индийский клювачRussian
  • Расписной клювачRussian
  • myktéria lysohlaváSlovak
  • обојена родаSerbian
  • Beloglava rodaSerbian
  • indisk ibisstorkSwedish
  • வண்ண நாரைTamil
  • சங்குவளை நாரைTamil
  • செவ்வரி நாரைTamil
  • மஞ்சள் மூக்கு நாரைTamil
  • นกกาบบัวThai
  • Alaca LeylekTurkish
  • лелека-тантал індійськийUkrainian
  • 彩鸛Chinese
  • 彩鸛〔白頭鸛〕Chinese
  • 彩鹳Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the painted stork

Other species in the same genus Mycteria.

LC, Least Concern
Wood stork (Mycteria americana)

Wood stork

Mycteria americana

Ciconiidae

ComparePainted stork vs Yellow-billed storkPainted stork vs Wood storkPainted stork vs Milky storkPainted stork vs Wetmore's stork

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the painted stork?

An adult painted stork weighs 2.5 kg – 3.18 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the painted stork endangered?

The painted stork is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the painted stork live?

The painted stork has a recorded lifespan of 28 years.

What kind of animal is the painted stork?

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) belongs to the family Ciconiidae in the order Ciconiiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/painted-stork

MLA

“Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/painted-stork.

BibTeX
@misc{painted_stork_2026,
  title = {Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/painted-stork},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}