Asian Openbill

Asian Openbill or Asian Openbill-stork is a large wading bird in the stork family. It is largely found in India, Sri Lanka, and certain parts of Indochina. They occupy their entire native range all year round, migrating to specific destinations during breeding season. Asian Openbill’s bill has an unusual shape with a gap which is specially adapted, allowing the bird to feed on large freshwater snails. The cutting edges have a fine brush like structure that is thought to give them better grip on the shells of snails. Young birds do not have this gap.