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Shot when this birdie was building its home. The painted stork is a large and fabulously colourful waterbird with a striking wing pattern. The broad wings appear striped black and white while folded, but when outstretched are almost entirely black apart from a white band in the centre. The painted stork has a long, yellow-orange bill, a vivid yellow-orange face, and pink legs. 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 along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.

Painted storks breed on trees either in mixed colonies along with other water birds, or by themselves. The platform nests are typically placed in a tree on an island or in an otherwise undisturbed area.

The mating season of the painted stork usually coincides with the latter part of the rainy season, typically occurring from August to October in the north of its range and November to March in the south. During this time, the male chooses a nest site and defends a territory, using bill pecking to ward off the more persistent competition. The female then selects a male, favouring larger individuals. Courtship takes the form of an elaborate bowing ritual, and once a pair has formed, they construct the nest together..