White Stork Identification Guide
Its scientific name is 'Ciconia ciconia', from the family Ciconiidae (order Ciconiiformes)
What I look like
The White Stork is larger than the Grey Heron with a long neck and long legs.
The plumage of the head and body is white.
Its wings are white and black.
It has red beak and legs.
Juveniles are recognized by their dark beak which then shades to dull orange at the base with a dark tip.
My songs, my calls
The White Stork is mainly heard during breeding when adults greet each other at the nest.
It then produces beak clattering, with its head tilted back, touching its back.
How I behave
The White Stork is rather familiar if not frightened. It often nests near humans.
It flies with its neck outstretched, long legs extending beyond the tail…
Often in a disorganized circle, high up.
It can sometimes be confused with the White Pelican, but the latter flies with its neck retracted, legs not extending beyond the tail and in a synchronized circle.
It gathers in roosts for the night. Often high up, safe from predators.
How I reproduce
The White Stork builds its nest on roofs, electric poles, and sometimes in trees.
Its nest is made of twigs, placed for easy flight access without obstruction.
It is reoccupied and added to each year by the pair and can thus reach significant dimensions and weight.
In nuptial plumage, long white feathers appear around the neck.
What I eat
The White Stork feeds on frogs, fish, and small mammals.
But also on insects and worms.
They often feed in groups, during migratory stops or in winter.
Where to find me
It is found near cultivated areas close to watercourses (marshes, flooded lands).
A greater concentration of individuals in Eastern Europe than in the west is observed.
This could be linked to pollution of wetlands and their drying up.
It is a great migrant that winters in tropical Africa and returns to Europe in April.
It does not migrate over the sea due to the lack of thermal updrafts and thus concentrates on two land routes.
Thus, the migration passage through the Bosphorus and Gibraltar can be impressive at the end of August.
In recent years, part of the European population has settled due to milder winters and the availability of food in biodegradable landfill sites.
It can live up to twenty-six years.