Painted Storks Wade Through Chikka Basti Lake

Painted storks were spotted actively foraging for food at Chikka Basti Lake in Visveshwaraiah Layout, Bengaluru, on 23 May 2026, in a rare urban wildlife sighting. (Photo: NationPress)

Painted storks — a Schedule IV protected species under India's Wildlife Protection Act — were seen hunting fish at Chikka Basti Lake, Bengaluru, on 23 May 2026. (Photo: NationPress)

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is known for its distinctive pink-tipped wings and yellow bill — sightings at urban lakes like Chikka Basti in Bengaluru signal a relatively healthy local ecosystem. (Photo: NationPress)

Painted storks typically hunt in shallow freshwater bodies, sweeping their open bills through water to catch fish and frogs — a behaviour on full display at Chikka Basti Lake, Bengaluru. (Photo: NationPress)

Chikka Basti Lake in Visveshwaraiah Layout, Bengaluru, drew a group of painted storks on 23 May 2026, underscoring the role urban water bodies play as refuges for migratory and resident waterbirds. (Photo: NationPress)

Bengaluru once had over 900 lakes; today fewer than 200 remain active, according to civic data — making sightings of species like the painted stork at surviving lakes such as Chikka Basti all the more significant. (Photo: NationPress)

Chikka Basti Lake in Visveshwaraiah Layout, Bengaluru, is emerging as a notable urban birdwatching spot — the painted stork sighting on 23 May 2026 adds to growing documentation of wildlife returning to the city's restored water bodies. (Photo: NationPress)