Spot-Billed Pelican & Painted Stork

• Context (TNIE): There are sightings of ‘black’ oil-drenched pelicans and painted storks in Chennai.

Oil Spill in Chennai: In the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung, the oil-mixed floodwater from Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) refinery has entered the wetlands and rivers. Cyclone Michaung: It is a super-cyclonic storm that has made landfall at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. This tropical cyclone over the Bay of Bengal was named Michaung by Myanmar.

Spot-Billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis)

• Spot-billed pelican or Grey pelican is a large water bird.
• Distribution: Indian subcontinent and SE Asia.
• Habitat: a variety of wetlands, both freshwater and saline. It breeds colonially in Acacia bushes.
• Threats: Habitat loss, hunting, invasive species and diseases.
• Conservation status: IUCN: NT | WPA: Schedule IV

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

• Painted stork is a shorebird.
• Distribution: endemic to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
• Habitat: freshwater marshes, lakes, flooded fields, irrigation canals, rivers, etc.
• Threats: Habitat loss, hunting, pollution, invasive species and diseases.
• Conservation status: IUCN: NT