White stork
The White Stork is a large wading bird breeding in the warmer parts of Europe (as far north as Estonia), northwest Africa, and southwest Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan). It is a strong migrant, wintering mainly in tropical Africa, down to the south of South Africa, and also in the Indian subcontinent.
It is a huge bird, 100-125 cm tall, with a 155-200 cm wingspan and a weight of 2.3-4.5kg. It is completely white except for the black wing flight feathers, and its red bill and legs, which are black on juveniles.
CONSERVATION AND POPULATION
Notable breeding totals occur mainly in central and eastern Europe, with 52,500 pairs in Poland, 12,000-18,000 pairs in Ukraine, 10,500-13,000 pairs in Belarus, 10,000 pairs in Lithuania, the highest known density of this species in the world, and 8,500 pairs in Latvia. In Estonia the population is also increasing and is currently at around 4000 pairs. In Germany, 3,000 of the total 3,400 pairs are in the former East Germany. There are also a consistent number of pairs in Romania. In southwestern Asia, Turkey has the highest population, with 15,000-35,000 pairs. Apart from Spain (14,000 pairs) and Portugal (10,000 pairs), numbers in western Europe are much less healthy, while re-introductions of zoo-reared birds have halted declines in Italy (30 pairs), the Netherlands (9-12 pairs), and Switzerland (120-160 pairs). A few pairs also breed in South Africa. North of the breeding range, it is a rare passage migrant or vagrant in Finland, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, and also west to the Azores and Madeira.
Threats to the species include the drainage of wetlands and other agricultural intensification, collisions with overhead power lines, use of persistent pesticides (such as DDT) to combat locusts in Africa, and (largely illegal) hunting on passage and the wintering grounds. Some birds have been found in Europe with African arrows embedded in their bodies.
Twenty five years ago the population of this "iconic emblem of Alsace" - the bird revered for bringing fertility and luck to any home upon which it nested - had fallen to fewer than nine pairs in the entire upper Rhine River Valley, an area closely identified with the White Stork for centuries. Conservation efforts there, particularly by the Association for the Protection and Reintroduction of Storks in Alsace and Lorraine, have successfully increased the population of birds to 270 pairs.
BEHAVIOUR
White Storks rely on movement between thermals of hot air for long distance flight, taking great advantage of them during annual migrations between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The shortest route south would take them over the Mediterranean, but since thermals only form over land, storks take a detour. The options are limited, because to the east lies the Arabian Desert, where it is difficult to find food and water - and to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. This leaves two narrow migration corridors: eastern storks cross the straits of Bosporus to Turkey, traverse the Levant (Syria-Lebanon-Israel-Palestine), and then bypass the Sahara Desert by following the Nile, while western ones fly through the straits of Gibraltar. Either way, the storks can get help from the thermals for almost the entire trip and thus save energy.
White storks breed in open farmland areas with access to marshy wetlands, building a stick nest in trees, on buildings, or special platforms. Because it is viewed as bird of good luck, it is not persecuted, and often nests close to human habitation. In southern Europe, storks' nests can be seen on churches and other buildings. It often forms small colonies. Like most of its relatives, it feeds mainly on frogs and large insects, but also young birds, lizards and rodents.
The white stork is almost silent except for the noisy mutual bill-clattering when adults meet at the nest.
It is a huge bird, 100-125 cm tall, with a 155-200 cm wingspan and a weight of 2.3-4.5kg. It is completely white except for the black wing flight feathers, and its red bill and legs, which are black on juveniles.
CONSERVATION AND POPULATION
Notable breeding totals occur mainly in central and eastern Europe, with 52,500 pairs in Poland, 12,000-18,000 pairs in Ukraine, 10,500-13,000 pairs in Belarus, 10,000 pairs in Lithuania, the highest known density of this species in the world, and 8,500 pairs in Latvia. In Estonia the population is also increasing and is currently at around 4000 pairs. In Germany, 3,000 of the total 3,400 pairs are in the former East Germany. There are also a consistent number of pairs in Romania. In southwestern Asia, Turkey has the highest population, with 15,000-35,000 pairs. Apart from Spain (14,000 pairs) and Portugal (10,000 pairs), numbers in western Europe are much less healthy, while re-introductions of zoo-reared birds have halted declines in Italy (30 pairs), the Netherlands (9-12 pairs), and Switzerland (120-160 pairs). A few pairs also breed in South Africa. North of the breeding range, it is a rare passage migrant or vagrant in Finland, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, and also west to the Azores and Madeira.
Threats to the species include the drainage of wetlands and other agricultural intensification, collisions with overhead power lines, use of persistent pesticides (such as DDT) to combat locusts in Africa, and (largely illegal) hunting on passage and the wintering grounds. Some birds have been found in Europe with African arrows embedded in their bodies.
Twenty five years ago the population of this "iconic emblem of Alsace" - the bird revered for bringing fertility and luck to any home upon which it nested - had fallen to fewer than nine pairs in the entire upper Rhine River Valley, an area closely identified with the White Stork for centuries. Conservation efforts there, particularly by the Association for the Protection and Reintroduction of Storks in Alsace and Lorraine, have successfully increased the population of birds to 270 pairs.
BEHAVIOUR
White Storks rely on movement between thermals of hot air for long distance flight, taking great advantage of them during annual migrations between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The shortest route south would take them over the Mediterranean, but since thermals only form over land, storks take a detour. The options are limited, because to the east lies the Arabian Desert, where it is difficult to find food and water - and to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. This leaves two narrow migration corridors: eastern storks cross the straits of Bosporus to Turkey, traverse the Levant (Syria-Lebanon-Israel-Palestine), and then bypass the Sahara Desert by following the Nile, while western ones fly through the straits of Gibraltar. Either way, the storks can get help from the thermals for almost the entire trip and thus save energy.
White storks breed in open farmland areas with access to marshy wetlands, building a stick nest in trees, on buildings, or special platforms. Because it is viewed as bird of good luck, it is not persecuted, and often nests close to human habitation. In southern Europe, storks' nests can be seen on churches and other buildings. It often forms small colonies. Like most of its relatives, it feeds mainly on frogs and large insects, but also young birds, lizards and rodents.
The white stork is almost silent except for the noisy mutual bill-clattering when adults meet at the nest.
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