Greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius)

Species: Greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius)

Status: Endangered (EN)

Interesting fact: The greater adjutant is named after an adjutant (military officer) because of its stately manner and habit of standing motionless for long periods of time.

With its naked pink head, very thick yellow bill and low-hanging neck pouch, the greater adjutant is a rather eye-catching stork. Colonies of greater adjutants can be seen gathering in India and Cambodia at the start of the dry season in October. Large nests are constructed on tall trees, and eggs are laid between November and January. These hatch after about a month of incubation. Nestlings are cared for until April when the start of the wet season prompts migration north. A carnivore and scavenger, the greater adjutant feeds on a variety of prey, including carrion, fish, reptiles and large insects. It is also known to feed in human rubbish dumps.

Once found across south and southeast Asia, the greater adjutant is now restricted to two small breeding populations. Loss of nesting habitat and feeding sites has had a huge impact as suitable wetland habitats are cleared, drained, polluted and disturbed by humans. Hunting of the adult birds and collection of eggs also threaten the greater adjutant. This species is legally protected in many countries, although enforcement of these laws is often lacking.

For more information on the greater adjutant see the Wildlife Conservation Society website

Find more photos and videos of the greater adjutant on the ARKive website.

With thanks to @inaturalist for this weeks suggested Endangered Species of the Week!

Lauren Pascoe, ARKive Media Researcher

Add Comment (0) Share

This week, two male cuckoos that were fitted with satellite tags in May last year have become the first of their kind to have their African migration mapped.

The cuckoo is a well-known harbinger of spring in Britain

Avian air miles

In the last two decades, Britain has lost almost half of its cuckoo population, and numbers are continuing to decline steadily. However, conservation of the cuckoo has been hampered by a lack of information surrounding the cuckoo’s long migration to and from its breeding grounds.

In an effort to understand more about this extraordinary species, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) fitted five male cuckoos with small satellite tags in May last year. It was hoped that following these avian adventurers would help scientists to discover why fewer and fewer cuckoos are returning to the UK each year.

Two of the birds, named Lyster and Chris, are helping scientists to unravel the mystery of the cuckoo’s migration. After a remarkably long journey – Lyster clocked an incredible 10,000 miles in total – both birds arrived back in the UK last week. Lyster was spotted in the Norfolk Broads on Tuesday, just 10 miles from where he was tagged last May.

“It’s just fantastic,” said Dr Phil Atkinson, head of international research at the BTO. “We know where he’s been, we know the routes he’s taken and now he’s back in the Broads.”

Reed warbler feeds a cuckoo chick in its nest

Route revealed

By tracking Lyster and Chris, scientists were able to create a migration map, which revealed exactly where the cuckoos spent the winter. The map also highlighted how little time cuckoos, which are often thought of as British birds, spend in Britain.

“They’re African birds, really,” said Phil Atkinson. “They evolved in Africa.”

Missing on migration

Unfortunately, three of the birds didn’t make it back to Britain. As with all migratory species, cuckoos respond to the changing seasons, and rely on the presence of lush vegetation to provide food for the insects that they feed on. This means that a changing climate could create additional barriers along their already arduous journey.

“All the birds got down to Congo and survived, and it’s only on spring migration that we started to lose birds,” said Dr Atkinson. “We lost our first bird, Clement, in Cameroon on the return journey. So we think the crunch time is just before they cross the Sahara.”

The loss of the birds was a blow to the research team. However, the new information gleaned from this event regarding the most challenging parts of a cuckoo’s migration could actually help with the conservation of the species.

“These birds move into West Africa, they fatten up as much as they can – enough to fuel their Saharan crossing. And if they’re not able to do that, I think that’s going to be a real pinch point in terms of mortality,” said Dr Atkinson. “That’s where we need to focus our research effort and conservation action.”

Male cuckoo in flight

Next steps

Following the success of the tagged males, the team now plans to continue its research by fitting female cuckoos with the same devices and tracking their progress. The team is keen to find out if migration patterns, both in terms of route and timing, are different between males and females.

Male cuckoos may need to return to the UK earlier than females in order to ensure they occupy a good territory and find females to mate with, while the females may have to stay in the UK later than the males, to lay the last clutch of the season.

“As we have seen in the five cuckoos, timing is really important and this may be crucial in determining whether a bird undertakes a migration successfully or not,” said Dr Atkinson.

Grahame Madge, of the RSPB, praised the tagging study, and expressed relief that some cuckoos were successfully completing their migrations and returning to Britain to breed.

“The cuckoo is an urgent priority for research,” he said. “This fantastic project is boosting the understanding of this bird so that, hopefully, we can give this bird a future.”

Read more on this story at BBC – Tagged cuckoos complete migration and return to the UK.

Learn more about the cuckoo on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Species Text Author

Add Comment (0) Share

For a bit of #WildlifeWednesday fun, we asked you to send us examples of bands or singers with animals in their names, and we got some great responses! We received a fabulous selection of actual band names as well as creative puns, from the Black Eyed Bees to Blenny Rogers, so we’ve put together a blog to showcase our favourites!

The Eagles

The Philippine eagle is also known as the monkey-eating eagle

The Eagles are famous for the song ‘Hotel California’, but our ARKive eagle of choice hails from the other side of the world: the Philippines. The Philippine eagle is the world’s largest eagle, and is sadly one of the most threatened birds of prey.

Arctic Monkeys

The diet of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is composed primarily of lichens

This monkey may not be from the Arctic, but he certainly looks a little chilly! The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is a rather elusive, Endangered primate from south-western China.

And now we’ll move on to some of the fabulous puns you all sent in!

Nine Inch Snails

Trachycystis haygarthi is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List

We’re not sure the shape of this snail’s shell could be classed as ‘The Downward Spiral’ like the title of the 1994 album by Nine Inch Nails, but it’s certainly a spiral of some sort! This particular snail species, Trachycystis haygarthi, is endemic to South Africa, and so is found nowhere else in the world.

Gulls Aloud

The herring gull is a supreme opportunist and scavenger

In 2005, Girls Aloud released the single ‘Wake Me Up’, and it seems that herring gulls across the UK took this message to heart, and appear to have made it their mission to squawk as loudly as possible in the early hours of the morning, waking up many a sleepy person!

Llama del Ray

The guanaco can live at high elevations, as its blood can carry more oxygen than that of other mammals

A relative of the domestic llama, this guanaco appears to be singing along to the latest Lana del Rey song! We’re not sure this species is particularly tuneful, though…!

Fleetwood Macaque

The Sunda pig-tailed macaque is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List

‘The Chain’ is a Fleetwood Mac classic, and this Sunda pig-tailed macaque appears to be joining in the song at full voice. Yet one type of chain this species would not be celebrating is the chainsaw. One of the main threats to this primate is habitat destruction as a result of tree felling in its forest home.

Dire Kraits

The banded sea krait is highly venomous, but is rather docile

The Dire Straits song title ‘Down to the Waterline’ suits this amphibious reptile rather well! The banded sea krait leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle, and comes ashore to lay its eggs.

Mötley Shrew

Savi's pygmy shrew is the smallest land mammal in the world

Mötley Crüe’s drummer Tommy Lee could certainly rock out on percussion at pretty mean speeds, yet as far as rapid beats go, even he would be no match for Savi’s pygmy shrew! This species has a heart rate of over a thousand beats per minute!

Def Leopard

Leopards can be individually identified by their spot patterns

Def Leppard’s fourth album included the hit single ‘Animal’, a rather appropriate song title for this blog!

The leopard certainly is a beautiful animal, with its gorgeous coat pattern of rosettes which enable it to remain camouflaged when hunting. Conservation efforts are vital to ensuring a future for this species, so that it is not left ‘High ‘n’ Dry’.

Moose Springsteen

Along with the Eurasian elk, the moose is the largest living deer species

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A’ is potentially a rather fitting anthem for this large species, as the moose’s range does include parts of the United States, as well as Canada, Russia, northern Mongolia and northern China.

Thanks to everyone who sent in ideas, you certainly are a creative bunch!

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Species Text Author

Add Comment (0) Share

California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

Species: California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

Status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Interesting Fact: The California condor urinates on its own legs to keep cool!

The California condor is a member of the New World vulture family, and has an impressive wingspan of just less than three metres. Native to North America, the California condor soars over large distances on its immense wings, using its vision to spot carrion on which to feed. Its large size means it dominates other scavengers at a carcass, except the golden eagle which, while smaller, has an impressive set of talons. The California condor mates for life, producing one chick every two years. Young condors take around six to eight years to reach full maturity.

Extremely endangered, the California condor was reduced to just eight wild individuals in 1987. Declines in the 20th Century were due to human induced pressures such as trapping, shooting, egg collection and lead poisoning following ingestion of carcasses killed with lead shot. The remaining wild birds were taken into captivity and an intensive captive breeding programme has since led to the first release of this magnificent bird back into the wild.

Find out more about the California condor with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Learn more about the California condor and other endangered species with our Survival app.

View images and videos of the California condor on ARKive.

Becky Moran, ARKive Species Text Author

Add Comment (0) Share

Although Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins share their western Antarctic Peninsula breeding grounds, new research has discovered that rising temperatures have been affecting the breeding cycles of the three species in different ways.

Gentoo penguin colony with chicks. Gentoo penguin populations are thought to have increased on the Antarctic Peninsula

Tracking penguin colonies

Professor Heather Lynch and her colleagues from Stony Brook University used a combination of fieldwork and satellite imagery to track colonies of the three penguin species and monitor how their breeding cycles were affected by the region’s warming temperatures.

Currently, the Antarctic is considered to be one of the world’s most rapidly warming regions and is one of the areas most impacted by global climate change.

Adelie penguins walking along the beach. Adelie populations have declined in the Antarctic, possibly due to warming temperatures in the region

Shifting breeding cycles

According to Lynch’s research, warmer temperatures cause a shift in the breeding cycle, causing the Peninsula’s penguin inhabitants to lay their eggs earlier. The researchers found that the resident gentoo penguin population is able to adapt more quickly to this change, with these birds able to bring their egg laying dates forward by almost twice as much as the Adélie or chinstrap penguins. 

Lynch believes this may allow the gentoo penguin to better compete for the best nesting space. In addition, the gentoo prefers areas with less sea ice, and has been able to migrate further south into the Antarctic as the sea ice shrinks as a result of the warming temperatures.

While gentoo penguins are year-round residents on the Antarctic Peninsula, Adélie and chinstrap penguins migrate to the Peninsula to breed. The researchers believe that the Adélie and chinstrap penguins are not aware of the local conditions in the region until they arrive, and have not been able to advance their breeding cycles as rapidly as the gentoo penguin.

Chinstrap and Adélie penguins also rely more heavily on sea ice due to their dependence on Antarctic krill, a species which lives under the sea ice for parts of its lifecycle, for food.

Gentoo penguin adult and chick

Changing penguin populations

As a result of changing conditions in the region, the number of gentoo penguins has been increasing on the Antarctic Peninsula, while populations of both Adélie and chinstrap penguins have noticeably dwindled in recent years.

Analyses carried out by Lynch and her team have confirmed that populations of the Adélie penguin have decreased at almost all of its breeding locations on the Antarctic Peninsula. The researchers have also helped to resolve previous contradictory studies that suggest that the chinstrap penguin may benefit from decreasing sea ice, and have instead shown that populations of this species are also decreasing in the region.

The work by Lynch and her team has been published as a series of papers online in Polar Biology, Ecology and Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS).

Chinstrap penguins on beach. Chinstrap populations have also suffered as a result of rising Antarctic temperatures

Read the Stony Brook University press release about Lynch’s work.

Find out more about the Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins on ARKive.

For more information on the Antarctic visit ARKive’s Antarctic ecoregion page.

Interested in how climate change is affecting the world’s species? Find out more on ARKive’s climate change pages, or enter our creative climate change challenge!

Helen Roddis, ARKive Species Text Author

Add Comment (0) Share