Editing Asian openbill (section)

==Food and foraging==
[[File:Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) in Uppalpadu, AP W IMG 2767.jpg|thumb|left|Nest colony (India)]]
During the warmer part of the day, Asian openbills soar on thermals and have a habit of descending rapidly into their feeding areas. Groups may forage together in close proximity in shallow water or marshy ground on which they may walk with a slow and steady gait. The Asian openbill feeds mainly on large [[mollusc]]s, especially ''[[Pila (gastropod)|Pila]]'' species, and they separate the shell from the body of the snail using the tip of the beak. The tip of the lower mandible of the beak is often twisted to the right. This tip is inserted into the opening of the snail and the body is extracted with the bill still under water. [[Thomas C. Jerdon|Jerdon]] noted that they were able to capture snails even when blindfolded. The exact action being difficult to see, led to considerable speculation on the method used. Sir [[Julian Huxley]] examined the evidence from specimens and literature and came to the conclusion that the bill gap was used like a nutcracker. He held the rough edges of the bill as being the result of wear and tear from such actions.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Huxley, J |year=1960| title= The openbill's open bill: a teleonomic enquiry| journal= Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere|volume=88|pages=9–30}}</ref> Subsequent studies have dismissed this idea and the rough edge of the bill has been suggested as being an adaptation to help handle hard and slippery shells.<ref name=tomia/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kahl |first=M. P. |date=1971 |title=Food and feeding behavior of Openbill Storks |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01644077 |journal=Journal für Ornithologie |language=en |volume=112 |issue=1 |pages=21–35 |doi=10.1007/BF01644077 |bibcode=1971JOrni.112...21K |issn=1439-0361|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They forage for prey by holding their bill tips slightly apart and make rapid vertical jabs in shallow water often with the head and neck partially submerged. The gap in the bill is not used for handling snail shells and forms only with age. Young birds that lack a gap are still able to forage on snails. It has been suggested that the gap allows the tips to strike at a greater angle to increases the force that the tips can apply on snail shells. Smaller snails are often swallowed whole or crushed.<ref name=kahl>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Ornithology|volume=112| issue=1| pages= 21–35| doi= 10.1007/BF01644077| title= Food and feeding behavior of Openbill Storks| author=Kahl MP|year = 1971|bibcode=1971JOrni.112...21K |s2cid=1484358}}</ref>  At one location in Thailand, Asian Openbills discarded the male’s testes and female’s albumen glands of ''[[Pomacea canaliculata]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sawangproh |first=Weerachon |date=2021 |title=Notes on the foraging and feeding behaviours of the Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-021-00045-2 |journal=Ornithology Research |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=42–45 |doi=10.1007/s43388-021-00045-2 |bibcode=2021OrniR..29...42S |issn=2662-673X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They also feed on water snakes, [[frog]]s and large [[insect]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mukherjee, Ajit Kumar |year=1974| title=Food-habits of water-birds of the Sundarban, 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India-IV. Stork, Teal, Moorhen and Coot| journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=71| issue=2| pages=188–200|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48286387}}</ref> When foraging on agricultural landscapes with a variety of habitats, Asian openbills preferentially use natural marshes and lakes (especially in the monsoon and winter), and irrigation canals (especially in the summer) as foraging habitat.<ref name=":1" />