126 Indian BIRDS VOL. 10 NO. 5 (PUBL. 2 NOVEMBER 2015) Painted Storks Mycteria leucocephala breeding in Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala Shibi Moses Moses, S., 2015. Painted Storks Mycteria leucocephala breeding in Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 126–127. Shibi Moses, Chackalayil, Kumaranparambil House, Puthuppally PO, Kottayam 686011, Kerala, India. E-mail:
[email protected] Manuscript received on 26 August 2014. he Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary (9.62ºN, 76.42ºE) is located and bushy shrubs. The trees were inaccessible either by land or on the banks of the Vembanad Lake, in Kerala. It is 14 km by boat. A watchtower, about 120 m away and 8 m high, was Twest of Kottayam town, the headquarters of the eponymous the only vantage point that could be used for these observations. district. It has Vembanad Lake on its west, the Kumarakom– The branches chosen for the nest sites were bare, despite new Vechoor road on its east, the Kavanar River on the north, and leafy offshoots, and this provided some visibility even from this the KTDC Waterscapes Hotel on the south as its borders. It is distance. Since this opportunity was unique, I decide to monitor a regular nesting and roosting site for eleven species of water the nests on an irregular basis without being stationed at the nest birds like the Great Egret Casmerodius albus, Intermediate site throughout the day. Kumarakom being a mixed heronry, the Egret Mesophoyx intermedia, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Great birds were tolerant to minor disturbances by visitors and did not Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Indian Cormorant P.