Recent records, review of wintering distribution, habitat choice and asso- ciations of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in India and Sri Lanka

Abstract

Black Stork Ciconia nigra is an uncommon, wary, winter and passage migrant to India. The wintering population of Black Storks has reduced alarmingly. For Black storks that visit South Asia, India appears to be a major wintering ground. Until 1983, the wintering distribution of these storks is reported to be mainly from Northern India up to Sholapur district, in the Deccan. Our observations indicate that most wintering Black Storks in India are adults and only a few are juveniles. The earliest sightings are in December and the lat-est are in mid-April. Our recent surveys and reported observations on the habitat choice of Black Storks in India show that they are found on natural lakes, artificial irrigation reservoirs, on river banks in agricultural or forest country, water bodies in forests, scrub, arid and semi-desert areas as well as on the sea coast.

Full text

Biota 7/1-2, 2006 71
PANDE, PAWASHE, DESHPANDE, SANT,
KASAMBE & MAHABAL
Recent records, review of wintering
distribution, habitat choice and asso-
ciations of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in
India and Sri Lanka
Satish PANDE, Amit PAWASHE, Prashant
DESHPANDE, Niranjan SANT,
Raju KASAMBE & Anil MAHABAL
ELA Foundation, C-9, Bhosale Park, Sahakarnagar-2, Pune 411009, India
E-mail: satishpande@hotmail.com, pande.satish@gmail.com
Abstract
Black Stork Ciconia nigra is an uncommon, wary, winter and passage migrant to India.
The wintering population of Black Storks has reduced alarmingly. For Black storks that
visit South Asia, India appears to be a major wintering ground. Until 1983, the wintering
distribution of these storks is reported to be mainly from Northern India up to Sholapur
district, in the Deccan. Our observations indicate that most wintering Black Storks in India
are adults and only a few are juveniles. The earliest sightings are in December and the lat-
est are in mid-April.
Our recent surveys and reported observations on the habitat choice of Black Storks in India
show that they are found on natural lakes, artificial irrigation reservoirs, on river banks in
agricultural or forest country, water bodies in forests, scrub, arid and semi-desert areas as
well as on the sea coast.
Key words: Black Stork, Ciconia nigra, observations, wintering distribution, habitat choice,
India
Received 6 February 2007; accepted 4 April 2007

72 Biota 7/1-2, 2006
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KASAMBE & MAHABAL
INTRODUCTION
Black Stork Ciconia nigra is an uncom-
mon, wary winter and passage migrant to
India. The geographic distribution of this
species is mostly in Poland, Baltic coun-
tries, Western Europe, east through Russia
and North China. The species also inhabits
Germany, France, Scandinavia, Burgundy
and Iberia. Black Storks are monotypic and
two discrete populations are recognized:
one population breeds in Central Asia and
winters in Southwestern and Southern Asia
and the other breeds in Eastern Russia and
winters in Eastern China and Korea. Both
populations are widely scattered in win-
ter along streams and forest ponds, etc.,
and are very inadequately covered by the
Asian Waterfowl Census (AWC) 1994. The
wintering distribution of these storks in
the Indian subcontinent is reported mainly
to Northern India, from Punjab, Gangetic
plains to Eastern Assam, south through
Rajasthan, Kutch, Northern Gujarat and
up to 18º N latitude, i.e. Solapur district in
Maharashtra in the Deccan (Ali and Ripley
1968, Elphick 1995) After reviewing the
literature, we observed that although there
are no systematic studies on the distri-
bution pattern and movements of Black
Storks in India, there are several scattered
observations throughout the country.
This paper deals with the review of pub-
lished records and recent unpublished
records of wintering Black Storks in various
states of India, along with observations on
their habitat choice and associations. This
also includes our own observations carried
out on the wintering population of these
storks in Pune and Kolhapur districts in
the states of Maharashtra from December
1998 until April 2004.
RESULTS
Previous records of wintering distribu-
tion (1965 onwards)
A review of the literature (Table 1, Figure
1) shows that Black Storks were recorded
in various states of India, particularly in
Northern India in 1986 and again in 1989
at Pong Dam, Himachal Pradesh (Pandey
1989a, b); at various places in Rajasthan
(Sharma 1981, Vyas 1992, Sharma & Raza
1994, Andheria 2000, Changani 2002); in
Gujarat (Himmatsinghji 1985, Bhaskaran
1995); and in Madhya Pradesh (Newton et
al 1986, Misra 1994, Saxena 1998, Shafiq
2002). There are few records in the north-
eastern part of India, particularly in Assam
(Barman and Talukdar 1995), Guwahati,
Meghalaya (Choudhary 2003), Arunachal
Pradesh (Datta et al 1998) and West Bengal
(Sivakumar & Vibhu Prakash 2004). Black
Storks have been recorded in various parts
of Maharashtra (Mahabal & Lamba 1987,
Sawji 1990, Prasad 1997, Kurhade 2003,
Kasambe-in press) as well as in Andhra
Pradesh (Manakadan 1987, Anand Mohan
2000) and particularly in Eastern Godavari
district during December-January 1987,
1989, 1992, and 1995 (Rao et al 2000). There
is a single sighting of this stork at Nagarhole
in Karnataka (Andheria 1999). There are
also records in the southernmost part of
India, particularly Tamil Nadu (Perennou
and Santharam 1990, Relton 1998) and in
Kerala (Narayan Kurup 1989, Praveen and
Menon 1994, Prasad 1997, Jayson 2000).
There is a report of Black Storks in the
Deccan (Pande et al 2003). The record of
Black Stork from Thrissur at 100.20’ north
latitude seems to be the southernmost
for India. Ali and Ripley (1968) have stated
that these storks have not been previously
recorded in South India, although a couple
were seen decades ago in Sri Lanka (Henry
1971).
Table 1 indicates that, in general, sightings
of these storks are often solitary, in couples
and a few in small, scattered parties of
from three to ten birds. Once, a flock of 25
Black Storks was recorded at Ranthambore
in Rajasthan in January 2000 (Andheria
2000).
India is a major wintering ground for Black
Storks in South Asia. 47 %, 31% and 81%
of all migrant Black Storks to the region

Biota 7/1-2, 2006 73
PANDE, PAWASHE, DESHPANDE, SANT,
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have been recorded in India in 1994, 1995,
and 1996 respectively. Furthermore, from
published records, including AWC records,
the number of storks was calculated for the
first 10 years and the remaining were illus-
trated in 5 year increments in Figure 1. This
indicates that the number of storks was at
a maximum during 1986-1990 but then
they decreased marginally during 1991-
1995 and 1996-2000. Map 1 also shows
wintering distribution of Black Storks in
many states of India; however, there are
no authentic records from the states of
Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana,
Bihar and Orissa.
New records of wintering distribution
Table 2 and Map 1 show a compilation of
our observations, as well as collected infor-
mation on Black Storks from personal com-
munication from bird watchers and mem-
bers of the ELA Foundation, all supported
by photographs, from various districts of
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
and Karnataka, during December 1997
to February 2004. Here, once again the
Figure 1: Published records of Ciconia nigra in India. No. of Black Storks on the Y axis and year
of record on the X axis.
0
50
100
150
200
250
1966-75 1976-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 2001-04
Figure 2: Recent unpublished observations of Ciconia nigra. No. of Black Storks on Y axis and
Year of record on X axis.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

74 Biota 7/1-2, 2006
PANDE, PAWASHE, DESHPANDE, SANT,
KASAMBE & MAHABAL
storks were observed solitarily, in couples
and a very few in small loose parties of
three to 13 birds. Two flocks of 19 and 31
birds were noted at two different water
reservoirs at Amravati in November 2001
(Kasambe). The number of storks observed
from 1997 until 2004 is plotted year wise
in Fig. 2. This indicates that their numbers
were highest in 2001, followed by 2003
and 2002, and during the remaining years
they were seen in smaller numbers. It can
be seen from Tables 1 and 2 that most
of the wintering Black Storks in India are
adults, with red beaks and scarlet feet, and
very few are juveniles with black beaks.
The adult to juvenile ratio of Black Storks
from published and unpublished records
(Tables 1 and 2) is estimated to be 24.6:
1 (n=282). However, the age of ten Black
Storks was not mentioned in the records.
Furthermore, it can be seen that the earli-
est sightings are in October, most occur in
November, and the latest in March. In our
observations at Pune, Nashik, Amravati dis-
tricts (Maharashtra) and Dharwad district
(Karnataka), the habitats chosen by Black
Storks seem to be stopover sites for one
week to a maximum of four weeks. Hence,
these places do not appear to be their final
wintering grounds and the birds appear
here in passage.
Further, Table 2 and Map 1 show that Black
Storks regularly wintered at Veer Dam,
Naygaon, and Saswad areas near Pune
city from December 1998 to January 2003.
They did not visit in the winters of 2003
and 2004, probably because the water
bodies of their choice had dried because
of a severe prevailing drought. Storks
were also regular visitors in the vicinity
of Amravati town from December 2000
until February 2004, whereas, at Dharwad,
Karnataka, they were seen in alternate
years. At all these places, although winter-
ing Black Storks are seen regularly, they
come in very small numbers.
From Map 1 it can be seen that Pong Dam in
Himachal Pradesh, Kanha National Park in
Madhya Pradesh, East Godavari in Andhra
Pradesh, Veer Dam near Pune, and water
reservoirs near Amravati in Maharashtra
seem to be some of the favoured sites for
wintering Black Storks in peninsular India.
Further, it has been mentioned that dur-
ing the AWC 1987-91, the most important
sites in India were identified at Kaziranaga
National Park, Assam and the Ramganga
Barrage in Corbett National Park, Uttar
Pradesh.
Habitat choice
Black Storks are water birds and are found
wading in marshes at the edges of water
bodies or in shallow waters. New records
and older reported observations on the
habitat choice of Black Storks in India show
that they are found mostly in water res-
ervoirs in scrub areas followed by river
banks, forest ponds and water reservoirs
in agricultural cropland and a single record
on the sea coast. These storks are reported
from just below the mean sea level to 500
m altitude. Our observations at Dharwad,
Karnataka have revealed that some of the
habitats are used by storks both for feed-
ing and roosting, particularly near water
bodies with large surrounding trees or
reed beds, where the storks find safe roosts
at night, while other areas like islands in riv-
ers and reservoirs are used exclusively for
roosting at noon and night (Pande, S.). On
several occasions, the authors have noted
storks soaring on rising thermals in the late
afternoon. In India, Black Storks are seen to
feed on aquatic animals, particularly frogs,
fish, crustaceans, water insects and occa-
sionally young or disabled birds, rodents,
etc. (Ali and Ripley 1968). However, on
two occasions, when water bodies were
smaller than usual because of drought,
the authors have clearly seen storks feed-
ing exclusively on fish. We observed from
published and unpublished records (Table
1 and 2) that Black Storks prefer water bod-
ies in scrub areas (WS=58.2%), followed
by water bodies in forests (WF=19.5%),

Biota 7/1-2, 2006 75
PANDE, PAWASHE, DESHPANDE, SANT,
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rivers (R=13.7%), water bodies in agricul-
tural areas (WA=8.2%), and the sea coast
(SC=0.4%) (n=292).
Associations with other animals
With winter migrant birds
In India, wintering Black Storks have
been seen associating with other winter
migrants including Demoiselle Cranes
Grus virgo, Common Cranes Grus grus,
Comb Ducks Sarkidiornis melanotus, Ruddy
Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea, Barheaded
Geese Anser indicus, European White Storks
Ciconia ciconia, a few medium and small
sized waders (Sandpipers, Shanks, Stints,
Godwits), Ospreys Pandion haliaetus and
Western Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus
(Table 1 and 2).
With local birds
They also associate with resident and
local migrants such as Painted Stork
Mycteria leucocephala, Asian Open-bill
Stork Anastomus oscitans, White-necked
Stork Ciconia episcopus, Black-necked Stork
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, Lesser Adjutant
Figure 3: Map showing previous published and recent unpublished Indian records of Black
Stork.

76 Biota 7/1-2, 2006
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Table 1: Previous published records of Black Stork Ciconia nigra during winter in India
Date No. Age Locality Lat/Long. Hb. Act.. Assoc. Ob.P Reference
J 1966 1 A Khamgao, Pune,
MS 18.30N74.10E WA F 1D Mahabal & Lamba
(1987)
J 1978 1 A Sariska,
Rajasthan 27.05N79.17E WF 1D Sharma (1981)
22N 1982 1 Kanha NP, MP 23N WF F 2.5M Newton et. al.(1986)
22J 1983 2 Kanha NP, MP 23N WF F 2.5M Newton, et.
al.(1986)
25N 1983 2 A,J Kutch, Gujrath 24.08N70.16E WS F 1D Himmatsinghji
(1985)
7N 1985 6 A Rollapadu, AP 15.52N78.18E R F 2M Manakadan (1987)
23F1986 6 A Pong Dam, HP 31.18-32.07N R F 1.5M Pandey (1989)
7J 1987 1 A Bharatpuzha,
Kerla RF BK,
Waders 1D Narayan Kurup
(1989)
24F1987 1 A Periyar WLS,
Kerla 10N76E R F WNS 1D Narayan
Kurup(1989)
J 1987 2 A E.Godavari, AP 16N R F 1D Rao et.al.(2000)
1988-92 4 A Kota, SE
Rajasthan 25.19N75.52E WS F 4Y Vyas(1992)
30J 1988 1 J Pondicherry, TN 12N WS F 2M Perennou (1990)
21F 1989 1 A Pong Dam, HP 31.18-32.07N R F 1D Pandey(1989)
D 1989 4 A E.Godawari, AP 16N R F 1D Rao et.al.(2000)
1990 5 A Buldhana, MS 20.32N76.14E WS F 1D Sawji(1990)
1991-94 1 A Sri Venk.
WLS,AP 13.38N79.11E WF F Anand Mohan
(2000)
D 1992 3 A E.Godawari, AP 16N WA F 1D Rao et.al.(2000)
O1993-94 6 Walayar, Kerala 10.50N76.51E WA F 4M Praveen & Menon
(1994)
J 1994 1 A Rajasthan WA F
WS,
WNS,
PS, OBS
1D Sharma & Raza
(1994)
J 1994 4 A Trichur, TN 10.59N79.02E WA F WS 1D Relton (1998)
6M 1994 10 A Bhopal, MP 22.57N77.43E WF F
RT, SB,
WI, GC,
WNS
1D Misra (1994)
16D 1994 2 A Deepor Beel,
Assam 26.03N90.36E WF F GAS 1D Barman & Talukdar
(1995)
23D 1994 11 A Sasan Gir,
Gujarat 21N71E WS F 1D Baskaran (1995)
1994-2000 1 A Kumbhalgarh
WLS,Raj. WF F Changani (2002)
J 1995 6 A E.Godawari, AP 16N R F 1D Rao et.al.(2000)
1996 1 Pakhui WL,
Ar.Pr. 26.53N92.07E R F 1D Datt et.al.(1998)
6F 1997 2 A Amravatina-gar,
Kerala WA F WNS,
PS 1D Prasad (1997)
F 1997 5 A Pune, MS 18N WA F WS 1D Prasad(1997)
J 1998 1 A Morena, MP 25.15N76.22E R F 1D Saxena(1998)
14J ‘99 1 A Nagarhole, K 11.45N76.05E WF F LAS 1D Andheria(1999)
2000-01 1 A Buxa Tiger
Reserve, WB 26N89E WF F 1D Sivakumar et al
(2004)
24J ‘99 1 A Guwahati,
Meghalaya 25.58N91.45E WF F Ducks 1D Choudhary (2003)

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Stork Leptoptilos javanicus, Greater Adjutant
Stork Leptoptilos dubius, Eurasian Spoonbill
Platelea leucorodia, Brahminy Kite Haliastur
indus, River Tern Sterna aurantia, Great
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Greater
Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber, Lesser
Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica and
White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus
In general we noticed that association with
White-necked Stork, Painted Stork, White
Stork, Bar-headed Goose and Demoiselle
Crane seems to be commonest among
wintering Black Storks in India. Ali and
Ripley (1968) have also reported repeated
association with White-necked Stork.
With mammals
Black Storks were seen with mammals such
as Spotted Deer Axis axis (Family: Cervidae),
Gaur Bos gaurus (Family: Bovidae) at Pench
National Park, Madhya Pradesh in February
2002 (Pande, S.) and January 2003 (Sant,
N.R. unpublished), and domestic cattle in
several places. It is quite likely that the
Black Storks are observed near mammals
because of flushing of the potential prey
such as grasshoppers and other insects.
They are seen to avoid man. We did not
observe any inter-specific aggression
between Black Storks and other species
of local and migratory birds or mammals.
However, dogs accompanying grazing
domestic cattle often disturbed the Black
Storks, which were then forced to leave
the place.
Threats
The authors have witnessed two incidences
of attempted hunting of adult Black Storks
in our region. One stork was rescued near
Akola (Maharashtra), and was treated but
died (Joshi, Deepak, personal communica-
tion). On the other occasion, a Black Stork
was found in a field near Nashik, unable
to fly. An injury to one leg was noted.
The stork was treated for two weeks and
released successfully (Ranade, S, personal
communication). We also came across two
incidences of attempted hunting of White
Storks Ciconia ciconia. A review of the lit-
erature shows five incidences of hunting,
when five White Storks Ciconia ciconia
died. The other rescued, injured stork went
to a zoo.
Increasing human interference and
encroachment on wetlands, excessive fish-
ing activities, hunting, droughts, water pol-
lution, and molestation are the prime risks
faced by Black Storks on their wintering
grounds in India, as elsewhere. Reduced
habitat safety and scarce food availability
will have a negative effect on the wintering
population of Black Storks in our region.
The effect of severe prevailing drought was
recently demonstrated (2003-2004), when
no Black Stork was seen on water bodies
near Pune, since they had totally dried up.
Conservation
The conservation status of Black Stork is
noted in Appendix II of CITES (Convention
J 2000 25 A Ranthambor,
Rajasthan 25.N76E WF F WNS,
PS 1D Andheria (2000)
4J 2000 1 J Thrissur, Kerala 10.20N75.55E SC F
WNS,
PS,
OBS,
WS
1D Jayson (2000)
J 2001 1 A Kanha NP, MP 22.07N80.30E WF F 1D Shafiq (2002)
25F 2001 3 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WF F PS,
Ducks 1D Kasambe
(2003), in Press
16J 2003 11 A Ahmadnagar,
MS 19.05N WS F
WS,
WNS,
PS, SB
2W Kurhade (2003)
1961 2 A Ceylon
(SriLanka) WF F Henry (1971)

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Table 2: Recent unpublished records of wintering Black Stork Ciconia nigra in India.
Date No. Age Locality Lat/Long. Hb. Act.. Assoc. Ob.P Reference
F 1997 5 A Dharwad, Karnataka 15.27N75.05E WS FR LAS, CD 30D Sant N.R.
Sant N.R.
10D1997 2 J Veer, Pune, MS 17-18N R F BD, Wad 35D Pande S.A.
DJ 1998/99 2 J Veer, Pune, MS 17-18N R F Du, Wad,
GF 30D Pande S.A.
DJ 1999/00 2 J Veer, Pune, MS 17-18N R F BHG 40D Pande S.A.
F 1999 2 A Dharwad, Karnataka 15N75E WS FR LAS, CD 1W Sant N.R.
DJ 1999/00 2 A Naygaon,Pune,MS 17-18N WS R DC,Du 20D Pande S.A.
24D 2000 1 A Amrawati, MS 20.56N WS F BHG, PS,
WNS 1D Kasambe R
J 2001 1 A Nasik, MS 20N73E R Hurt 10D Ranade S
J 2001 2 A Veer, Pune, MS 17-18N R F DC,Du 1D Pande S.A.
F 2001 3 A Dharwad, Karnataka 15N75E WS FR LAS,CD 1W Sant N.R.
11N 2001 13 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS,BHG 1D Kasambe R
25N 2001 31 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS, GC 1D Kasambe R
25N 2001 17,2 A,J Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F BHG,SB 1D Kasambe R
25D 2001 5 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS,OBS,
GC 1D Kasambe R
J 2002 4 A Naygaon,Pune, MS 17-18N WS F RT,O 1D Pande S.A.
J 2002 6 A Garade, Saswad, Pune,
MS 17-18N WS F SB, Wad,
BNS 2W Pawashe
A.P.
JF 2002 2 A Ketkavale, Pune, MS 17-18N WS F WNS,
Ducks 2W Pawashe
A.P.
F 2002 2 A Pench NP, MP WF F Gaur 1D Pande S.A.
24N 2002 1 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F BHG 1D Kasambe R
24N 2002 7 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS 1D Kasambe R
J 2003 4 A Naygaon,Pune, MS 17-18N WS R DC, PS, WI 1D Pande S.A.
J 2003 6 A Garade, Pune, MS 17-18N WS F SB, MH 2W Pawashe
A.P.
J 2003 1 A Veer, Pune, MS 17-18N R F BD 1D Pande S.A.
J 2003 1 A Velavadar, Gujarat 21.36N72.06E WS F DC, CC 1D Kolhatkar
C.
M 2003 2 A Kolhapur, MS 17N WA Fly 1D Pande S.A.
J 2003 3 A Kanha NP, MP 23N WF F LWT, SD 1D Sant N.R.
23N 2003 14 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F WNS, CC 1D Kasambe R
7D 2003 1 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS,B D 1D Kasambe R
J 2004 1 A Pune, MS 18N R Fly 1D Ranade S
11J 2004 3 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS, BHG,
GC 1D Kasambe R
22F 2004 1 A Amravati, MS 20.56N WS F PS,DC 1D Kasambe R
F2004 5 A Dharwad, Karnataka 15N75E WS F,R WNS 1D Sant, N.R.
Key to abbreviations used in tables 1 and 2:
Date: This is the date on which the observations were recorded: O-October, N-November, D-
December, J-January, F-February, M-March.
Age: A-Adult, J-Juvenile.
Locality: This specifies the locality where the birds were sighted; Ar.Pr.-Arunachal Pradesh,
AP-Andhra Pradesh, Guj-Gujarat, HP-Himachal Pradesh, K-Karnataka, MP-Madhya Pradesh,
MS-Maharashtra State, Raj.-Rajasthan, TN-Tamil Nadu, UP-Uttar Pradesh, WB-West Bengal, WLS-

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Wildlife Sanctuary, NP-National Park.
Hb- Habitat - habitats where the Black Storks were observed: WA-Water body in agricultural
area, WS-Water body in scrub area, WF-Water body in forest, R-River bank, SC-Sea coast.
Act. - Activity: F-feeding, Fly-Flying, R-Roosting, Hurt-Injured.
Assoc. - Associations: BD-Brahminy Duck, BHG-Bar-headed Goose, BK-Brahminy Kite, BNS-Black-
necked Stork, CC-Common Crane, CD-Comb Duck, DC-Demoiselle Crane, GAS-Greater Adjutant
Stork, GC-Greater Cormorant, GF-Greater Flamingo, LAS-Lesser Adjutant Stork, LWT-Lesser
Whistling Teal/Duck, MH-Marsh Harrier, OBS-Open-bill Stork, O-Osprey, PS-Painted Stork, , RT-
River Tern, SD-Spotted Deer, SP-Eurasian Spoonbill, WI-White Ibis, WNS-White-necked Stork,
WS-White Stork.
Ob.P. - observation period - The duration during which observations were made in D-Day, W-
Week.
Reference -the relevant reference is mentioned.
Observer -The names of observers are given.
on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) 2000 and
Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972, of India. The South Asian non-breed-
ing population of Black Storks at 1% level
is 100 and an estimate of the total popula-
tion is < 10,000 (Islam and Rahmani 2004).
Whenever Black Storks or any other birds
are found in distress, members of the ELA
Foundation actively intervene and aid
the needy birds. We, on behalf of ELA
Foundation, our NGO, took active success-
ful conservation measures in the form of
confiscating and burning net traps and
arresting poachers, with the help of the
Forest Department, when net traps were
discovered on the wintering grounds of
Black Storks and White Storks (2002 and
2003). Continued vigilance in the area
occupied by the storks was maintained in
the winter to prevent future disturbances.
22.6% of Black Storks recorded in pub-
lished and unpublished records (Tables 1
and 2) (n=292) were seen in 14 protected
areas. We are making active efforts on
behalf of the ELA Foundation to educate
local villagers and school children through
slide shows and reports in newspapers to
create awareness and prevent poaching.
Active participation of forest department
and local NGOs is taken when the need
arises, but much still needs to be done
on the wintering and foraging grounds in
our region to safeguard the future of the
declining Black Stork population.
Acknowledgements
The study was partly supported by the ELA
Foundation. We thank Pramod Deshpande
for making the map included in this MS.

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