Woolly-Necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) Activity Budget in Lowland Nepal's Farmlands: The Influence of Wetlands, Seasonal Crops, and Human Proximity

Abstract. Tropical farmlands experience dramatic seasonal variations in landscape conditions and have continuous human presence, providing potentially challenging settings for resident waterbirds. Behavior of the globally threatened Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) was studied for two seasons (monsoon and winter, 2018–2019) in lowland Nepal to assess how storks coped with changing conditions on farmlands. Activity budgets were prepared from 582 min of video, and recursive partitioning was used to identify variables that affected two critical activities: foraging and vigilance. Foraging was a dominant activity (32 ± 33%) with relatively little percent time spent being vigilant (10 ± 19%). Woolly-necked Storks reduced percent foraging time when they foraged closer (25.8 ± 36.3%) compared to farther (35.8 ± 31.8%) from wetlands. Percent foraging time was reduced during the winter (30.6 ± 35.2%) compared to monsoon (35.1 ± 32.2%), suggesting improved foraging conditions. Percent time spent foraging increased closer to humans, suggesting lower efficiency. Percent time being vigilant decreased closer to wetlands, suggesting reduced disturbance. Wetlands and drier cropfields with human presence were relatively high-value habitats. Woolly-necked Storks coped with changing seasonal conditions in lowland Nepal's farmlands by altering activity budgets in relatively minor ways identical to alterations made by similar species in wild habitats. This work adds to growing literature showcasing the multifunctional value of tropical agricultural landscapes and underscoring the need to move away from assuming that agriculture is uniformly detrimental for large waterbirds.