Foraging rates by Openbill Storks in urban Bangkok

Openbill Storks are specialised snail eaters that forage in swamps and rice fields for freshwater snails. As swamps disappeared, they became rare in parts of their range, including Bangkok, Thailand, for many years. The arrival of invasive apple snails, which have bred rapidly in Thailand’s waterways, gave Openbills a new food source. Our study found they can eat three to six snails per minute – good news for urban Bangkok’s Openbills, and potentially an effective natural control on the invasive snail population.