Leptoptilus argalaArdea dubiaLeptoptilus giganteus[2]Argala migratoria[3] The greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae.

Large numbers once lived in Asia, but they have declined (possibly due to improved sanitation) to the point of endangerment.

Known locally as hargila (derived from the Assamese words har, 'bone', and gila, 'swallower', thus 'bone-swallower') and considered to be unclean birds, they were largely left undisturbed but sometimes hunted for the use of their meat in folk medicine.

The greater adjutant was described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham as the "giant crane" in his book A General Synopsis of Birds.

In his account Latham also mentioned that he had learned from the traveller Henry Smeathman that a similar species was found in Africa.

[5][6] When in 1789 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, he included the greater adjutant, coined the binomial name Ardea dubia and cited Latham's work.

Latham based his plate on a drawing in the collection of Lady Impey that had been made of a live bird in India.

In 1790 Latham in his Index Ornithologicus repeated his earlier description of the Indian species but gave the location as Africa and coined the binomial name Ardea argala.

[9] Finally, in 1831 the French naturalist René Lesson described the differences between the two species and coined Circonia crumenisa for the marabou stork.

[13] The marabou stork of Africa looks somewhat similar but their disjunct distribution ranges, differences in bill structure, plumage, and display behaviour support their treatment as separate species.

In the breeding season, the pouch and neck become bright orange and the upper thighs of the grey legs turn reddish.

This was established in 1825 by Dr. John Adam, a student of Professor Robert Jameson, who dissected a specimen and found the two-layered pouch filled mainly with air.

[23] The only possible confusable species in the region is the smaller lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus), which lacks a pouch, prefers wetland habitats, has a lighter grey skull cap, a straighter edge to the upper mandible, and lacks the contrast between the grey secondary coverts and the dark wings.

While crowding at these sites, male birds mark out their nesting territories, chasing away others and frequently pointing their bill upwards while clattering them.

Adults at the nest have their legs covered with their droppings and this behaviour termed as urohidrosis is believed to aid in cooling during hot weather.

[18]The greater adjutant is omnivorous and although mainly a scavenger, it preys on frogs and large insects and will also take birds, reptiles and rodents.

[51] In Rajasthan, where it is extremely rare, it has been reported to feed on swarms of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria)[52] but this has been questioned.

[56] Loss of nesting and feeding habitat through the draining of wetlands, pollution and other disturbances, together with hunting and egg collection in the past has caused a massive decline in the population of this species.

[1] Conservation measures have included attempts to breed them in captivity and to reduce fatalities to young at their natural nesting sites.

[18] In Kamrup district, Assam, which is home to one of the few large colonies of greater adjutants, outreach efforts including cultural and religious programming, especially aimed at village women, have rallied residents to conserve the birds.

The locals, who formerly regarded the birds as pests, now see the storks as special and take pride in protecting them and the trees in which they breed.

It was very common in Calcutta during the rainy season and large numbers could be seen at garbage sites and also standing on the top of buildings.

[65][66][67] The coat of arms of the city of Calcutta issued through two patents on 26 December 1896 included two adjutant birds with serpents in their beaks and charged on their shoulder with an Eastern Crown as supporters.

[70][71][72][73] The undertail covert feathers taken from adjutant were exported to London during the height of the plume trade under the name of Commercolly (or Kumarkhali, now in Bangladesh) or "marabout".

[76] An Indian myth recorded by the Moghul emperor Babur was that a magic "snake-stone" existed inside the skull of the bird, being an antidote for all snake venoms and poisons.

Folk-medicine practitioners believed that a piece of stork flesh chewed daily with betel could cure leprosy.