Woolly-necked Stork

A medium-sized stork with a glossy black body, a black cap, and a white neck. In flight, the white undertail coverts are clearly visible. Note the dark black bill with a reddish tip and red legs. Mainly inhabits wetlands including lakes, ponds, dams, flood plains, marshes, and flooded agricultural fields. Flies with their neck stretched out and tends to soar long distances on thermals. The species is predominantly carnivorous, its diet consisting of fish, frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, large insects and larvae, crabs, molluscs and marine invertebrates. It forages by slowly walking through water or vegetation, stabbing at prey.
Occurs from India and Sri Lanka to the Philippines, with a separate population in sub-Saharan Africa. In southern Africa, it is uncommon in Mozambique, northern and southern Zimbabwe, northern Botswana, northern Namibia (including the Caprivi Strip) and eastern South Africa. It can occupy almost any wetland habitat, generally preferring flood plains, rivers, pans, ponds, dams, lagoons, swamp forests, mangrove swamps, tidal mudflats, estuaries and also man-made habitats, including golf courses, firebreaks and roads in plantations.