• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2012	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2008	Near Threatened	A2b,c,d; A3b,c,d; A4b,c,d
2006	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent shelf island	Average mass	3,180 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	8,700,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	20000-60000 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2023
Population trend	increasing	poor	inferred	2004-2029
Generation length	10 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-2,1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size is not well known. Perennou et al. (1994) estimated populations of 15,000 individuals in South Asia, and 'fewer than 10,000 individuals' in South-East Asia, with an estimated global total of 15,000-25,000 individuals. Wetlands International (2022) now estimate 25,000 individuals in South Asia (although there is little indication that this more than arbitrary) and retain the estimate of 5,000-10,000 in South-East Asia between 1987 and 1990. Few additional data are available from India, however a report of 4,000 nesting birds at a single location (Veerapuram Village) on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border (V. Santharam in litt. 2023) suggests that the estimate for South Asia from Wetlands International (2022) may be pessimistic. A wider bound of 15,000-50,000 is therefore used here. There is also additional empirical evidence to suggest that the South-East Asia estimate used by Wetlands International (2022) is too small; for example, more than 3,000 pairs (thus 6,000 mature individuals) were counted in Cambodia in 2021 (WCS unpublished data). Consequently, it is probable that the total number of birds (including non-breeding individuals) in South-East Asia is now substantially more than 7,000, and may even exceed 10,000. In the absence of other data, the values collated here are accepted, albeit with low confidence. Thus, the global population is suspected to number somewhere in a broad bracket of 20,000-60,000 mature individuals. Better data, especially from South Asia, where this species is not confined to wetland habitats, but also uses farmland and agricultural landscapes, should be a priority for future research.

Trend justification: Although numbers counted fluctuate annually (largely in response to observer effort/coverage, as well as annual shifts in distribution), numbers counted in the Asian Waterbird Census show no obvious trend (Li et al. 2009, Kar et al. 2018). Data (International Wetlands Census) from Cambodia and Thailand (see Langendoen et al. 2021) show an increase in population size for 2011-2020 (1.249) and 2002-2020 (1.0436), leading Wetlands International (2022) to regard the South-East Asian subpopulation to be increasing overall. Although the population in Malaysia (centred around Kuala Lumpur) is estimated to be increasing exponentially (Zakaria and Nor 2019), this is considered feral (Puan et al. 2020, MNS Bird Conservation Council 2021).
The trend of the South Asian population is uncertain, with no empirical trend from Wetlands International since. However, in northern India there has been no evidence for recent declines (G. Sundar in litt. 2016) and numbers counted and published via the Asian Waterbird Census have shown no obvious trend (Wetlands International South Asia 2020). In Kerala, the last two decades has seen a large influx of the species into wetlands, where they are now breeding (e.g. Moses 2015); and recent trend data from Keoladeo National Park show signs of population recovery (Dwevedi et al. 2021). There are, however, some reports of local declines in Maharashtra (G. Jathar in litt. 2023). It is acknowledged that these sources do not cover every facet of this species' conservation status, exhibiting a particular bias to wetland habitats (to which this species is not confined, being readily found in agricultural landscapes: eBird 2023, G. Sundar in litt. 2023). Nonetheless, they are suspected of being representative of broader global trends, and the noted range expansions in both South and South-East Asia indicate genuine population recovery throughout. Consequently, the global population is inferred to be slowly increasing.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bangladesh	extant	native	yes
Cambodia	extant	native	yes
China (mainland)	extant	vagrant			yes
India	extant	native	yes
Laos	extant	native	yes
Malaysia	extant	introduced	yes
Myanmar	extant	native	yes
Nepal	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes
Singapore	extant	introduced	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes
Thailand	extant	native	yes
Vietnam	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cambodia	Boeung Chhmar / Moat Khla
Cambodia	Preah Net Preah / Kra Lanh / Pourk
Cambodia	Prek Toal
India	Bhashkarpara
India	Harike Lake Bird Sanctuary
India	Rangananthittu Bird Sanctuary
India	Tiruppadaimarudur Conservation Reserve
India	Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary
Myanmar	Gulf of Mottama
Nepal	Barandabhar forests and wetlands
Nepal	Bardia National Park
Nepal	Chitwan National Park
Nepal	Farmlands in Lumbini area
Nepal	Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Koshi Barrage
Nepal	Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Thailand	Inner Gulf of Thailand
Thailand	Lower Central Basin
Vietnam	U Minh Thuong

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Aquaculture Ponds	major	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches	suitable	unset
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels)	suitable	unset
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha)	major	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Salt Exploitation Sites	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land	major	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	resident
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Shrub Dominated Wetlands	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		No decline		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (domestic use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/painted-stork-mycteria-leucocephala on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.