They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding.

This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis.

The older genus names were based on Greek mythology where Tantalus was punished by having to stand in a pool of water.

[8] Later studies placed along with the wood-storks in the genus Mycteria, members of which have similar bill structure and share a common feeding behaviour of sweeping their half-open bill from side to side inside water as they wade[9] and their evolutionary affinity has been confirmed by sequence based studies.

They are found south of the Himalayan ranges and are bounded on the west by the Indus River system where they are rare and extend eastwards into Southeast Asia.

[6] Young birds may disperse far from their breeding sites as demonstrated by a juvenile ringed at a nest in Keoladeo National Park that was recovered 800 kilometres away at Chilka in eastern India.

[19] Painted storks feed in groups in shallow wetlands, crop fields and irrigation canals.

The maximum success of finding prey was at 7 cm of water depth at Keoladeo National Park.

[24] Painted storks in the Delhi region were observed eating fish, while those in Kokrebellur in south India fed nestlings with frogs, crabs, large insects and grasshoppers.

In such landscapes, flock sizes do not vary much between seasons, but densities are much higher in winter after chicks of the year have fledged from nests.

[35] To feed chicks, adults regurgitate fish that they have caught and these are typically smaller than 20 cm (7.9 in) long.

[24] The daily requirement for chicks has been estimated to be 500–600 grams (18–21 oz) made up of about 9 fish fed in two sessions.

[6] A bird louse, Ardeicola tantali was described on the basis of a specimen obtained from this species[39] as also a subcutaneous mite, Neottialges kutzeri, of the family Hypoderidae.

[40] Painted stork nesting colonies often become centres of tourist attraction due to their large size and colour.

Particularly well-known nest sites close to human settlements are in the south Indian villages of Kokrebellur and Veerapura.

[42] This colony is made up of 300 to 600 wild birds that make use of the trees within the artificial islands inside the zoo.

[5][26] Painted Storks taken from Sri Lanka were kept in captivity and subsequently released in Malaysia where the annual growth of the population is 10-13%.