VietNamNet Bridge - On August 6, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Director of the Tram Chim National Park (Dong Thap province) said that so far, nearly 500 red-headed cranes and about 8,000 Asian openbill storks, which is named in the Vietnam Red Book, have flown to the park.

Asian openbill storks in Tram Chim National Park (photo: Dan Tri).

The red-headed cranes live around the paddy fields near the national park. Besides red-headed cranes, there are about 8,000 Asian openbill storks now live in the park.

Hung said these storks are "friends" of farmers. Every day, they fly to the nearby farming areas to eat yellow snails, help farmers protect their crops.

Currently, openbill storks are one of the 32 water bird species that are given priority in preservation in Vietnam. This species is well adapted to the environment of Tram Chim National Park because this is the wetlands, with many grasses and food for storks.

The Asian openbill stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. Young birds are born without this gap which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

Tram Chim National Park is located in Dong Thap Province, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. This national park is created to protect several species of rare birds, especially the red-headed cranes, a species listed in the IUCN Red Book.

Asian openbill storks  and red-headed cranes in Tram Cham National Park.