Greater Adjutant

The greater adjutant is a huge stork standing 145–150 cm tall, with an average length of 136 cm and an average wingspan of about 250 cm; it may rival the marabou stork as the largest stork. It has a massive wedge-shaped bill, a bare head and a distinctive neck pouch, and adults have a dark wing that contrasts with light grey secondary coverts. In the 19th century it was especially common in Calcutta, where it was called the Calcutta adjutant and appeared on the city's coat of arms (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds mainly on carrion and offal but is opportunistic and sometimes preys on vertebrates. Known locally as hargila, from the Assamese words for bone-swallower, it was considered unclean and largely left alone, though sometimes hunted for folk medicine (Wikipedia, general species account).