Editing Lesser adjutant (section)

==Description==

A large stork with an upright stance, a bare head and neck without a pendant pouch, it has a length of {{convert|87|–|93|cm|in|abbr=on}} (outstretched from bill-to-tail measurement), weighs from {{convert|4|to|5.71|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and stands about {{convert|110|–|120|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author1=Ali, S  |author2=SD Ripley| title= Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 1|edition=2nd| pages=107–109|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1978| place= New Delhi}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite book|author=Elliot, A.|year=1994| chapter= Order Ciconiiformes. Family Ciconiidae (Storks)|editor= del Hoyo, J. |editor2=A. Elliot |editor3=J. Sargatal| title=Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1. Ostrich to Ducks|publisher= Lynx Edicions| place= Barcelona, Spain|pages=436–465}}</ref><ref name="Hancock">Hancock, James A.; Kushan, James A.; Kahl, M. Philip. (1992) ''Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-12-322730-0}}</ref> The only confusable species is the [[greater adjutant]], but this species is generally smaller and has a straight upper bill edge ([[Culmen (bird)|culmen]]), measuring {{convert|25.8|-|30.8|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, with a paler base and appears slightly trimmer and less hunch-backed. The skullcap is paler and the upper plumage is uniformly dark, appearing almost all black. The nearly naked head and neck have a few scattered hair-like feathers. The upper shank or tibia is grey rather than pink, the tarsus measures {{convert|22.5|-|26.8|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The belly and undertail are white. Juveniles are a duller version of the adult but have more feathers on the nape.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/stream/birdsindia04oaterich#page/375/mode/1up|year=1898| pages=374–375|title=The Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 4|author=Blanford, WT| publisher=Taylor and Francis| place=London}}</ref> During the breeding season, the face is reddish and the neck is orange. The larger median wing coverts are tipped with copper spots and the inner secondary coverts and tertials have narrow white edging. The [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] measures {{convert|57.5|-|66|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. Like others in the genus, they retract their necks in flight. In flight, the folded neck can appear like the pouch of the greater adjutant.<ref name=pcr>{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen PC  |author2=JC Anderton| year=2005| title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2| page=64| publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions| place = Washington DC and Barcelona}}</ref> Males and females appear similar in plumage but males tend to be larger and heavier billed.<ref name= Hancock/><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.cambosastra.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CJNH-2011-July-2011.pdf|journal=Cambodian Journal of Natural History|year=2011|issue=1|pages=23–28|title=A method for identifying the sex of lesser adjutant storks ''Leptoptilos javanicus'' using digital photographs|author1=Weckauf R|author2=M Handschuh|access-date=2012-03-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715143710/http://www.cambosastra.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CJNH-2011-July-2011.pdf|archive-date=2014-07-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>