Cover Picture and Issue Information

The month’s cover image shows a painted stork ( Mycteria leucocephala ) which is a large, colourful wading bird found across the wetlands and heronries of the Indian subcon nent. Due to rapid deteriora on of wetland habitats, painted stork popula ons are dwindling. It is now listed in the Near Threatened category by BirdLife Interna onal (as of 2018). Therefore, it assumes considerable ecological and conserva onal significance. Measurements of morphological features are important for ecological studies, especially on free‐ranging wild animal species (like the painted stork). Remotely es ma ng morphometric features (using things like avian bill and head lengths) are always laden with wide variances. Mahendiran et al. have developed a non‐invasive technique for in situ measurements of animal morphology through digital photographs. This new technique can generate reasonably accurate morphometric measurements at a rela vely low cost for rou ne morphometric works under field conditions. Photo credit: © Mylswamy Mahendiran