Lesser Adjutant is actually a stork from the stork family named Ciconiidae and currently its range was said to be wide spread, ranging from India, South East Asia countries right to Vietnam, Cambodia and Java. IUCN has however listed it as "Vulnerable" and according to Birdlife International the world wide population of this bird is reported to be only between 6,5000 - 8,000 birds (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php).
To me this bird looks almost like the marabou stork which can be found in Africa except that the latter has a long pink gular sac. In this region particularly Peninsular Malaysia, Lesser Adjutant can be found mainly near mangroves/mudflats although it was also seen near paddy fields before. Back in the days when i love to go fishing along the coast of Selangor i used to see one or two along the mudflats and i told myself "What a weird looking bird?". 5 years after that the figure has now risen to at least 11 or 12 of them. That was based on my recent trip along the coast of Selangor on 21 September 2013. I have also managed to spent about 10 minutes watching them "wade" along the mudflats and took a few photos along the way. Here are some the photos taken.
Most of the time they are reported to be in single.
However during mating season they are reported to be seen in a group. In this trip i did saw 6 birds in a group. Here you can see three of them.
The bird on the right is said to be a juvenile.
I believe part of their diet would include baby crabs.
Being a big bird (about 130cm) i have observed that it would need to run a few feet before it could take-off.
Once airborne, it can be as smooth and gentle like a glider.
Although i have not seen its nest before but field reports have indicated that they would nest high up on trees and its nest are formed from twigs and sticks just like grey herons.
In Malaysia, Lesser Adjutant or locally named burung "Botak Kecil" is a fully protected bird. It was clearly stated in Schedule 2 of the Malaysian "Wildlife Conservation Act 2010" (Akta 716). Interestingly Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea) is named "Botak Upeh" in the Act. And more interestingly the family "Ciconiidae" was label only as "botak". I guess all bald men can also be called "Ciconiidae" ka! ka! ka ! I wish that the authorities could come up with a better word/name then just "botak". Anyway joke aside i really hope that one day i could see more lesser adjutants in and around the entire Malaysian coast line/mudflats.
The photos below were taken from my subsequent trips to the mudflats.
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