---
title: "Painted Stork"
description: "Mycteria leucocephala — Uccelli. The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/painted-stork
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Painted Stork

> Mycteria leucocephala — Uccelli. The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader  in the stork family.

- Scientific name: *Mycteria leucocephala*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 10244
- Wikidata: [Q631805](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q631805)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4743](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4743)

## Names

- en: Painted Stork
- de: Buntstorch
- es: Cigüeña pintada
- fr: Tantale indien
- nl: Indische nimmerzat
- pt: Tântalo-indiano
- pl: Dławigad indyjski

## Countries with the most observations

IN (5820), LK (1378), TH (1085), MY (579), SG (332), KH (151), VN (43), MM (11), BD (10), PK (8)

## Summary

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. Their 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…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_stork

## Photo

![Painted Stork](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/painted-stork/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69252378

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/painted-stork?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).