The Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) or whitenecked stork – a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae – is an elegant bird found in India, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The adult has glossy black plumage with blue, green and purple iridescences. It is found in a wide variety of habitats including marshes in forests, agricultural areas, and freshwater wetlands. In India, it prefers waterlogged ground. There are three recognized subspecies in these storks. The subspecies episcopus are distributed in Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. The subspecies microscelis are found in Africa. The subspecies neglecta occurs in Indonesia.
