Overview

Black Stork: Large wading bird with broad wings, and long, straight, orange-red bill. Orange-red around eye, pink-red legs. Upperparts and neck black, rest of underparts white. Juvenile patterned like adult but duller grey-black upperparts and neck, and grey-green bill, legs, and around eye. Soaring flight with slow, powerful wing beats.

Black Stork: Breeds in central and southern Europe across Asia and southern Russia. Winters in tropical parts of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Birds in Southern Africa are resident. Found primarily in marshy wetlands and wooded areas, as well as hills and mountains near water. Rare vagrant to the UK and Ireland during migration.

Xeno-Canto Sound

Black Stork L4

• Title: Black Stork L4
• Recordist: Jarek Matusiak
• Description: Calls from a juvenile and bill claps from an adult.
• Location: pl
• Date: "March 14, 2017"

Black Stork L3

• Title: Black Stork L3
• Recordist: Jarek Matusiak
• Description: Shrill, whistled phrases given near nest.
• Location: pl
• Date: "March 14, 2017"

Black Stork L1

• Title: Black Stork L1
• Recordist: Jarek Matusiak
• Description: High-pitched "wheew-wheew" calls from pair in flight.
• Location: pl
• Date: "March 14, 2017"

Voice Text

"wheew-wheeew-wheew-whu-whu"

• Oldest bird recorded in the wild was 18 years old. The oldest bird in captivity was 31 years old.

• White Stork
• Oystercatcher

Storks (Ciconiidae)

ORDER

Five families are included in the CICONIIFORMES (pronounced sih-KON-ee-ih-FOR-meez), an order that includes long-legged birds such as ibises and spoonbills, the herons and egrets, and the storks.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

The Ciconiidae (pronounced sik-uh-NYE-uh-dee), or stork family, is composed of nineteen species in six genera (IOC World Bird List, version 2.3).

EUROPE

In Europe, four species of storks in three genera have occurred. These are the White, Black, Yellow-billed, and Marabou Storks.

KNOWN FOR

Stork species such as the Marabou Stork are known for their massive bills and large size; indeed they are among the largest of flying birds. The White Stork is also known for building its large nest on rooftops.

PHYSICAL

Storks are large birds with long legs, short tails and long, thick necks that are featherless in most species. Storks have long, large, often slightly downcurved bills, and long, broad wings ideal for soaring and flying great distances.

COLORATION

The two resident European stork species are mostly white with black in the wings (the White Stork) or mostly black with a white belly (the Black Stork). Both species have red in the bill, legs, and feet. Most other storks also have black and white plumage although some have grey and brown coloration as well as yellow on the bill, neck, or head.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

Storks in Europe occur in open habitats and farmlands near floodplains, marshes, and swamps (the White Stork), and in coniferous forests near wetlands (the Black Stork). The other two species are rare vagrants from Africa that prefer savannahs.

MIGRATION

The two resident species are long distance migrants to sub-Saharan Africa.

HABITS

Members of the Ciconiidae form pairs during the breeding season, but are often seen in large flocks during migration and on their wintering grounds. Storks forage by walking and wading though wetlands that hold frogs, fish, and other creatures that they snap out of the vegetation with their large bills.

CONSERVATION

None of the European stork species are endangered. In Asia, though, where most stork species are in trouble, the plight of waterbirds is unfortunately a different story.

INTERESTING FACTS

The White Stork of Europe has become adapted to living with people in Poland and some other countries and even nests on platforms on top of houses. This behaviour is what gave rise to the children’s story of babies coming from storks. Building their nests on or near houses also made people very familiar with White Storks and fostered various fables and myths associated with the large birds. These include such ideas as storks being harbingers of spring to being symbols of parental care and devotion.

Artist

Chris Vest