White stork: a famous bird of Russian nature.

Due to the fact that for the second year now, storks have been nesting on a concrete power line support near my house, I decided to expand my knowledge about these birds. And I learned so many interesting facts that I decided to present them in a magazine. This mainly concerns the white stork.
So:
Since ancient times, the stork has been considered a sacred bird; in ancient mythology, the chariot of Mercury was harnessed by storks (according to another version - cranes). In the beliefs of the ancient Chinese, it figuratively denoted a happy old age. And in many European traditions, the stork is a symbol of care for elderly parents, since it was believed that adult storks feed old relatives who are not able to obtain food on their own.
In the Christian tradition, the stork symbolizes goodness, light and faith, as it actively destroys snakes, which Christianity considered a symbol of sins and the devil.
There is a widespread legend that the stork brings children and a good harvest. It is for this reason that storks were revered in rural areas, and to this day villages try to protect these birds from all troubles. Since ancient times, peasants have strengthened old cart wheels on the roofs so that the stork could build a nest. If storks, for some reason, left the nesting site on a house, it was believed that this was a punishment for sins and all sorts of misfortunes and misfortunes would befall the inhabitants of the abandoned house.
But on the African continent, where storks mainly winter, they are hunted. 80 percent of the death of these birds is by shooting. Stork meat is used by Africans for food, the head and legs are used in witchcraft rituals, and the feathers are used for decoration.
Residents of the Far East did not lag behind the Africans. This led to the fact that the last Far Eastern stork nesting in Korea was killed in 1971. The only exception in the East was Japan, where hunting storks has always been prohibited.
In enlightened Europe, storks were not always treated favorably either. In the 17th century, the stork was completely destroyed in Italy; Germany and Austria-Hungary were not far behind, where at the beginning of the 20th century bonuses were given out for birds shot.
The worst thing happened to the black stork, the hunting of which was banned only in 1960. Greedy people believed that it was eating them, destroying fish stocks.
The image of a stork was quite widely used in heraldry and symbolism. The stork on the coat of arms denotes vigilance and forethought, as it sleeps on one leg and is always ready to wake up and begin active actions. In the modern world, the stork is one of the unofficial symbols of Belarus. The stork is also used in the symbolism of Germany, and for the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo the stork has become an official symbol.
The stork is a very large bird. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) has a height of 100-125 cm and a wingspan of up to two meters. The weight of large individuals of this species reaches 4 kg.
The population of storks living in temperate climates moves south to Africa during the cold season. This is about 10,000 km. Birds have acquired a number of features for this. The wide, powerful wings of storks are capable of making up to two beats per second, which allows them to reach a speed of 45 km. per hour They actively use rising air currents to gain altitude and glide. Storks can go into rest mode for 10-15 minutes during the flight. In this state, the bird's heart rate decreases to the same level as during sleep. (The pulse of storks while awake is 270 beats per minute). Thanks to all these devices, storks are able to fly up to 200 km per day.
The stork sleeps standing on one leg. At the same time, the bird periodically, without waking up, completely reflexively changes its tired leg.
The back toe of the stork is not developed, and there is a membrane between the front toes. It helps the bird move through swampy areas and shallow waters with silted bottoms.
The long, strong beak of the stork is perfectly adapted for obtaining food - small fish, amphibians, reptiles and large insects.
The white stork does not make loud sounds, this is caused by underdeveloped vocal cords. Of course, they are quite capable of producing a faint squeak or hiss, but they use a different method for communication. Wanting to attract a female or drive away a rival from the nest, the male white stork makes loud sounds by clicking his beak. Moreover, the position of the body in each of these cases is different, which allows you to create a sound of different tonality. Females and even white stork chicks also use this method of communication, but chicks with soft beaks do not produce loud clicking.
The life expectancy of storks varies greatly according to different sources. On the one hand, many authors claim that storks live up to 20 years, on the other hand, up to 70 years.
White and black storks are not picky about what they eat. But they also have their own preferences. The most predatory is the white stork, which happily eats small mammals (including gophers and hares), and on occasion catches small birds and destroys nests with chicks. There have been cases where a stork attacked a weasel or even an ermine.
In addition to mammals and birds, the white stork's diet includes amphibians, reptiles and molluscs. The bird of prey even eats poisonous snakes such as the viper. White storks do not disdain insects, especially in spring. At this time, the favorite foods of birds are earthworms, leaf wasp larvae, mole crickets and chafers. The white stork also readily eats locusts. True, most of the locusts are eaten by them during the winter in Africa.
White and black storks fly to nesting sites in late March - early April. Moreover, males are several days ahead of females.
Storks reach mating age by three years. The female differs from the male only in size.
Storks prefer to use the same nest from year to year. The oldest white stork nest is believed to be built in 1549 on one of the towers in East Germany. It was used until 1930.
Returning to the old nest, the male immediately begins to build on and renovate it. Often old nests reach enormous sizes and weigh several hundred kilograms. Not only the storks themselves, but also small birds live in such “apartments”.
The male white stork who has occupied the nest vigilantly guards it from competitors. When another male approaches, he drives away the opponent by loudly clicking his beak, and the sound of the clicking and the position of the male is fundamentally different from the behavior used to call the female. If the opponent persists, a fight may break out between the birds.
All storks are monogamous, but migratory species change partners. A male arriving at the nest waits for the first female to respond to his call. At the same time, it doesn’t matter whether his last year’s girlfriend is still alive. Often, a clash occurs between last year’s late female and the new one who managed to occupy the nest before her, and the male stork does not interfere in the conflict in any way. The winner stays with him.
A stork has about 3-5 eggs in a clutch. Incubation occurs on average for about a month. Their chicks are born helpless, although covered with down. After this, the parents take care of the chicks for about two more months. Moreover, the parents not only feed the chicks, but also give them water, and on a hot day, pour water over them to prevent overheating.
Test flights begin at the age of two months, but for another 15-20 days the children live in the nest and the parents continue to care for their grown chicks. Full independence in migratory stork species occurs at an age of slightly more than 70 days.
Later the chicks live separately from their parents. Their independence reaches the point that juvenile white and Far Eastern storks go to wintering a month earlier than adults. At the age of one or two years, they may not return to nesting sites at all and remain in wintering areas all year round.
It has been observed that white storks often throw weak and sick chicks out of their nests. Moreover, if the fallen chick is put back, history will repeat itself. Most likely, this is how storks fight overconsumption of food and protect healthy chicks from parasitic and infectious diseases.
The migration routes of storks have now been well studied. Storks of Western Europe fly through France, Spain and Gibraltar to Algeria and Morocco and further to wintering places in West Africa, or more precisely, to Senegal and Nigeria. Storks of Eastern Europe - along the western coast of the Black Sea, over the Bosphorus Strait to Turkey and Syria, and further along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the lower reaches of the Nile and through the countries of East Africa until the southern part of the continent. They finally reach the wintering areas by December, evenly distributed throughout the entire territory. The flight pattern is determined genetically. If storks from Eastern Europe are transported to Western Europe, they will still move along the eastern route, although it will be more protracted. But this will only happen if the resettled individuals do not come into contact with local ones. Young birds from another region that join a flock of local storks will follow the routes proposed by their older comrades, and will soon master a new migration route.
Unlike cranes, storks do not form a geometrically regular V-shaped wedge and fly in a relatively free group following the leader. In flight, the bird stretches its neck forward and lowers its beak slightly downward.
Storks have practically no natural enemies. Only large eagles and crocodiles can attack a powerful bird. Therefore, the main danger to the population of storks of various species is humans.
Currently, relative stability in numbers has been achieved only in the white stork. The remaining species are in danger of extinction, some due to their initially small numbers, and some due to the active impact of humans. The black and Far Eastern storks have suffered from human impact.
But even the white stork at the beginning of the 21st century numbered no more than 150,000 nesting pairs. Moreover, now there is a constant reduction in the number of birds nesting in the countries of Western and Central Europe. The main livestock is located in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
In nature, large species of storks lead a solitary lifestyle, forming pairs during nesting. The nests are located at a certain distance from one another and the males, before the start of the mating season, strictly ensure that competitors do not invade their living space.
Storks treat people differently. The white stork tries to settle closer to human habitation, preferring to place its nests on the roofs of village houses or old towers. The black stork, on the contrary, settles away from humans.
When kept at home, storks quickly get used to humans and easily make contact. It is better not to keep storks near small pets (rodents and small birds), because the birds may well try to eat other pets.
Storks behave calmly towards large poultry. Cases were mentioned when a stork living next to a person “grazed” and protected his poultry, not allowing the chickens to scatter around the yard.
Storks are not only beautiful and graceful, they are faithful human assistants, destroying pests of agricultural plants. Certain species of storks, among other things, are sensitive indicators of the environmental situation. It has been noticed that if a stork lives and feeds on some body of water, then the water there is clean. Now it depends only on the goodwill of people whether those times can return when storks lived in every village, delighting those around them with their beauty.

To the question: What is the difference between a stork and a heron? given by the author European The best answer is that they are actually quite close relatives. Two families of the same order of ankles. Storks are usually larger than herons, live in the swamp, far from water (and herons are aquatic birds), and in flight they stretch out their necks, unlike herons, which always fold it.

Reply from Eveline[guru]
The stork is a man, and the heron is a woman))

Reply from simplify[guru]
the heron is an aquatic bird... the stork is more of a land bird... the stork also brings children; the heron has no such responsibilities...

Reply from Sasha Belmesov[active]
beak size

Reply from squint[guru]
many...

Reply from Natasha[guru]
Real herons, or simply herons (lat. Ardea) are a genus of large (80-100 cm and above) birds of the heron family. These birds live along wetlands where their prey includes fish, frogs and other aquatic animals.
Most species of these birds, widespread throughout the world, nest in colonies in trees, building large nests there from twigs. Birds living in the northern regions, such as Gray Heron, Great Blue and Red Heron, migrate south for the winter, although the first two species do this only when the water freezes. Gray and Red herons nest in Russia
True herons are powerful birds with long cone-shaped beaks, long necks and long legs. Most species have a clearly visible tuft of feathers on the back of the head, extending backwards. They hunt by standing motionless in the water or sneaking up on the prey in shallow water, and then grabbing it with a quick jerk. In flight, they are slow, while pulling their heads towards themselves - this distinguishes them from other aquatic birds - cranes, storks and spoonbills.
Storks (lat. Ciconiidae) are a family of birds from the order wading, covering six genera and nineteen species.
The stork family is widespread not only in the tropics and subtropics, but also in temperate zones. Only two species nest in Europe - the white stork (Ciconia ciconia) and the black stork (Ciconia nigra). Two other species are considered extremely rare visitors - the yellow-billed whale (Mycteria ibis) and the African marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus).
Basically, storks prefer to live in open spaces and near water bodies. Common characteristics of the family are long legs, a long flexible neck, and a long, conical beak. The wings are usually wide and deeply segmented. All storks are good flyers, skillfully using air thermals to save energy in flight. Many species make long-distance flights every year.
Storks pick up food on the move from the ground and enter it, mainly small rodents, amphibians, fish, some invertebrates and reptiles. Some species of storks, such as marabou, are also carrion eaters.
Most species of storks are voiceless; the only sound they make is the beak of their beaks. However, some species are quite vocal, one example being the black stork

Reply from Anastasia[guru]
STORKS (storks, Ciconidae), a family of birds of the wading order, includes 11 genera, 18 species. The beak of storks is long, straight or slightly curved up or down, the wings are long and wide. Some storks can soar in the sky for a long time. Most species are voiceless due to the absence of vocal muscles of the lower larynx. The sounds are made by clicking the beak.
Storks are widespread, they live in places rich in water; nests on trees, roofs. Some storks (marabou) feed on garbage. In the Palearctic, only one genus is known - storks (Ciconia) with three species: white stork (length up to 110 cm), black stork and Far Eastern (black-billed) stork (Ciconia boyciana). The last two are guarded.
HERONS (Ardeidae), a family of birds of the wading order. Unites 66 species. Known from the Lower Oligocene, modern genera - from the Middle Miocene. Length 28-140 cm, weight from 100 g to 4 kg. Wingspan up to 180 cm, fly slowly. The neck is long, thin, the beak is long, straight at the end, with small teeth along the edges (for holding prey). The legs are long, the lower leg is partially exposed, and the toes are long. The color is monochromatic - brown, yellow, white. Males and females are colored the same. On the chest, rump and belly there are special downy feathers - powders. Their tops gradually break off, forming a horny powder reminiscent of talc. Use a serrated claw on the middle finger to spread the powder over the feathers.
Distributed throughout the world, except in the polar regions. They inhabit sea coasts and inland waters of the tropics and subtropics; there are several species in the temperate zone. The diet is based mainly on aquatic animals, sometimes feeding on land. Large herons wander in the water or stand in wait for prey, which they stun with a blow of their beak. Copes with young aquatic turtles, grass snakes and water voles

Appearance. The stork is considered a fairly large bird (the weight of an adult is about 4 kg), reaching a length of up to 120 cm. The length of the metatarsus is 24 cm, the beak is 22.5 cm. The wings are large, almost 64 cm in length, and are white (like everything else). bird plumage). True, a black tint can be seen on the flight feathers and long shoulder feathers. The iris, beak and legs take on the red color. The legs and neck are extended during flight.

Where to meet the white stork, its family and chicks, where it flies in winter

Habitats. The white stork lives in the open zone of forests and steppes.

Nutrition. Small fish along with frogs are the stork's main food, although sometimes it can eat snakes, lizards, various types of insects and chicks of other birds, as well as slugs, mice and gophers. Nesting sites. The populated areas of the western part of Russia are nesting sites that the white stork predominantly occupies. It is worth noting that other representatives of storks were unable to take root in conditions of active human activity.

Location and material for nest construction. The stork nests in elevated areas, which can be a tree, the roof of a wooden building, or a completely dilapidated building. On a tree for nesting, areas of dry branches located low above the ground at a level of 3-5 m, or the top of an already destroyed tree well illuminated by the sun, are selected. For the nest, various thick dry branches and twigs are selected with the addition of rotted straw and hay. Good pliable material - feathers, wool, hay, straw, felt rags and paper pieces - is used to line the tray.

Nest, its shape and size. Due to the fact that storks are able to use their nests for a long time, periodically repairing and building on them, the perennial nest turns out to be large, reaching up to one and a half meters in diameter. The height is also the same, although for a freshly built nest it is approximately 40-50 cm.

Laying eggs and its features. The female white stork is capable of laying from 2 to 4 eggs, more often there are four of them. The eggs are 7.1-7.8x5-5.7 cm in size, without a pattern (they differ from the eggs of the black stork in their yellowish shell when exposed to light), and as a result of prolonged incubation they lose their whiteness.

Nesting dates. In the second half of March or early April, stork couples arrive, as a result of which eggs can be laid already in May, which will be incubated by both the male and the female for 33-34 days. Only in the second half of July do chicks at the age of 54-63 days leave their nests, and by seventy days of their life they gain complete independence. Young storks fly to Africa for the winter at the end of August or the first weeks of September.

Distribution area. The distribution of the white stork in Russia is not widespread. This species of stork occupies predominantly the western extremity of the Russian border, moving east all the way to the regions of Pskov, Smolensk, Oryol and Kaluga regions. Separately lives in the eastern part of the Transcaucasian republics, rarely in Dagestan; The white stork is also found in Central Asian lands, where it occupies some part of Uzbekistan. In addition, the white stork's favorite nesting areas are southwestern Ukraine and the rest of Europe.

Man and the white stork: the benefits of birds for nature and people

Economic purpose. It is believed that the stork contributes to the extermination of locusts when, on its rare flights to grain fields and areas of the steppe, it begins to hunt for countless hordes of these harmful insects. On the other hand, although the stork can eat some types of snakes (for example, a completely harmless snake), nevertheless, it sometimes causes damage to a brood of farm birds - small chickens and ducklings, when they roam freely around the yard.

The white stork keeps many beliefs and legends about itself (also many), from time immemorial symbolizing longevity and marital fidelity (as well as). But it is worth noting that the apparent strong closeness of the stork pair is very illusory, because often the male does not neglect the new female if he did not wait for his first chosen one, who was late from wintering. This can create a big conflict between two females in the nest.

Which person doesn’t think of the unique appearance of a stork as soon as they hear the name of this white bird? If we think sensibly, then a very small number of bird representatives have deserved their attention from people. Since the white stork, for some reason mysterious to scientists, for some reason strives to be adjacent to a person, without moving far from human habitats, we can say that the natural (natural or “wild”, in human language) habitat is not characteristic of stork family.

This bird often makes nests on the roofs of houses, large barns, chimneys of abandoned factories, and on garden or park trees. By the way, white stork nesting sites are found not only in rural areas, but also in large urban centers - Bukhara can serve as an example of this.

The stork is a family of large birds belonging to the order Anodidae. The stork family includes 6 genera and 19 species. All members of the family are characterized by the presence of a long beak, pointed towards the end, a long neck and long legs. They have no goiter.

A small swimming membrane connects the three front fingers of storks. The hind toe of these birds is poorly developed. Storks are practically mute birds. This is due to the fact that their vocal cords are reduced.

Typically, representatives of the stork family have very wide, deeply dissected wings. Many species of storks make significant migrations every year, and storks in general are considered excellent flyers. These birds correctly use air temperature in order to be able to save energy when flying.

When in flight, storks stretch their necks forward. The most numerous populations of storks are in tropical countries. Very often you can see storks in hot and temperate latitudes.

The most famous member of the stork family is the white stork, whose lifespan is approximately twenty years. Almost all white storks are migratory birds - for the winter they fly to India or Africa (there are two migration routes).

Storks are found on all continents. True, in North America their distribution is limited to the extreme south. In Australia, storks live only in the northeastern part of the continent. Three species of these birds nest on the territory of the Russian Federation. Only two species of storks nest in the European part of Eurasia. We are talking about a white stork and a black stork. Sometimes, as a rare guest in Europe, you can see representatives of the species of yellow-billed stork and African marabou. As a rule, when choosing a habitat, storks give preference to areas located near water bodies, as well as open spaces.

The white stork is the most famous member of the stork family. The white stork has a white plumage, with the only exception being the black tips of the wings. These birds are endowed with a long thin beak, which is red in color, a long neck, and long legs, which are also characterized by a reddish tint. An interesting fact is that at the moment when the stork’s wings are folded, a deceptive impression may arise that almost the entire bird is black. By the way, it was from this feature that the Ukrainian name for this species of stork came - blackguz. Male and female white storks have almost identical colors to each other. The difference lies in the size of the individuals - female white storks are still slightly smaller than males. The height of these birds varies from one meter to one hundred and twenty-five centimeters, and the wingspan often reaches two meters. The weight of an adult white stork is approximately four kilograms. On average, the lifespan of these birds is twenty years. In appearance, the white stork is very similar to the Far Eastern stork. However, recently the Far Eastern stork has been identified as an independent species.

The distribution area of ​​the white stork is quite wide. It can be found throughout European and Asian territory. The white stork winters in tropical Africa or India. Moreover, the population of storks that inhabited the southern regions of the African continent adheres to a sedentary lifestyle. Some storks living in Western Europe are also sedentary. These are the areas that experience warmer winters. Migrating storks travel for the winter along two routes. Individuals that nest west of the Elbe River use the following route: after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, these birds remain to winter in Africa. This is the area between the tropical rain forests and the Sahara Desert. Representatives of white storks that nest east of the Elbe River fly through Asia Minor and Palestine during their migrations. Their wintering place is the territory of the African continent between South Africa and South Sudan. Some individuals winter in South Arabia (very small numbers of white storks) and Ethiopia (slightly more birds winter here compared to South Arabia). No matter what specific territory we are talking about, white storks always gather in huge flocks during the winter, including thousands of birds. Young representatives of the white stork species often stay in Africa not only in winter, but also in summer. Migrations of white storks associated with flights to wintering grounds occur during the day. Moreover, the birds fly at a fairly high altitude and avoid being above sea waters. When migrating, you can often see storks soaring.

White storks migrate in small groups. Sometimes in whole flocks. Storks form these groups (or flocks) immediately before flying to their wintering grounds. This is the time immediately following the breeding and feeding of offspring. Departure begins at the end of summer or the first month of autumn. There are cases when the departure of white storks for various reasons is delayed until October. As noted above, white storks fly at high altitudes during the day. An interesting fact is that the speed of movement of white storks towards the south is two times less than the speed of movement of these birds towards their nesting in the spring. Some individuals sometimes spend the winter directly in their nesting area. This situation is observed, for example, in Denmark.

The diet of white storks includes mainly small vertebrates. As well as various invertebrates. Storks living in European territory will always never refuse vipers, grass snakes, frogs and toads. In addition, the favorite food of white storks are locusts and grasshoppers. The diet of these birds also includes earthworms, mole crickets, chafers, small mammals (mainly hares, gophers, moles), and lizards. Sometimes they eat small fish and very rarely small birds. When searching for food, white storks walk very gracefully and slowly. However, when they see potential prey, they grab it with lightning speed.

Storks use the same nest for several years. Previously, these birds chose trees as nesting sites. Storks used branches to build a huge nest on them. As a rule, their nesting site was in close proximity to human settlements. A little later, these birds began to build their nests on the roofs of various buildings (including houses). Sometimes a person helped the stork in this regard, erecting these buildings especially for them. Recently, individuals of this species have successfully built nests on factory chimneys or high-voltage lines. An interesting fact is that the older the nest, the larger its diameter. In addition, the weight of individual nests reaches several centners. This nest is so huge that it becomes a place of life not only for the storks themselves, but also for a variety of small birds. The latter, for example, may include starlings, sparrows, and wagtails. Quite often, the nest is “passed on by inheritance” - after the death of the parents, the offspring takes possession of it. The oldest nest, which has been used by more than one generation of storks, is the nest built by these birds on one of the German towers (in the eastern part of the country). It served the storks from 1549 to 1930.

Male white storks are the first to arrive at the nesting site. They are only a few days ahead of the females. There are cases when males travel a distance of two hundred kilometers in one day. Storks return to our country at the end of March or beginning of April. An interesting fact is that the male white stork considers as his the female who appears first at the nest; but if shortly after this another female flies to the nest, then both will compete for the right to become the mother. Moreover, the male takes absolutely no part in this fight. The female who has withstood the competition is invited by the male to the nest. At the same time, the male throws his head back and uses his beak to make clicking sounds, and to create greater resonance he retracts his tongue into the larynx. The male makes identical clicking sounds when another male approaches his nest. Only the pose is different. The white stork horizontally draws in its neck and body, while lowering and raising its wings. Sometimes it happens that young storks fly to the nest of an old male. This is explained by the fact that the first ones are simply too lazy to equip their own nest. Fights often occur between the owner of the nest and opponents who do not respond to preliminary threats. When the male’s invitation is accepted, both birds, while in the nest, begin to click their beaks and throw their heads back.

The female white stork lays two to five eggs. Less commonly, their number varies from one to seven. The eggs are white. Both the male and the female take part in the incubation of eggs - usually the roles are distributed as follows: the female incubates at night, and the male incubates during the day. When changing the hen, specific ritual poses always take place. The duration of incubation of eggs is approximately thirty-three days. The newly hatched chicks are helpless, but they are sighted. At first, the chicks' diet consists mainly of earthworms. The parents throw them out of their throats, and the offspring either grab the worms on the fly or collect them in the nest itself. As white stork chicks grow older, they are able to snatch food intended for them directly from the beak of their parents.

White stork chicks are under the close supervision of adults. Adult birds often throw out all sick and weak chicks from the nest. Only on the fifty-fourth or fifty-fifth day after birth do young storks fly out of the nest. However, this process again occurs under the supervision of parents. Even after takeoff, for another two or two and a half weeks, the chicks are fed by their parents, and the storks improve their flight skills. Storks become completely independent at seventy days of age. An interesting fact is that young storks fly to winter without any guidance from adults. The path that storks take at the end of August is indicated to them by natural instinct. Adults fly away for the winter a little later - in September. Storks become sexually mature at the age of three. Despite this, some individuals begin to nest only six years after birth.

The stork is a bird very revered by folk culture. Various mythopoetic traditions designate storks as deities, shamans, totemic ancestors, demiurges, etc. White storks are considered symbols of life and growth, sky and sun, wind and thunder, freedom and inspiration, heights and prophecy, abundance and fertility.

The black stork is another representative of the stork family. The black stork is included in the Red Book of Russia and Belarus. When flying, it is often in a soaring state. This feature is also observed in other storks. In flight, black storks also throw their legs back and stretch their necks forward. The diet of black storks consists mainly of fish, invertebrates and small aquatic vertebrates. Thus, water meadows located in close proximity to water bodies, as well as shallow waters, become feeding places for these birds. In addition, during wintering, the diet of black storks diversifies thanks to large insects, a little less often lizards and snakes, as well as small rodents.

The black stork has a black color. The plumage of black storks is mainly black, although it has a copper-red or greenish tint. The ventral side of this bird's body is white, and the throat, beak and head are bright red. In addition, the unfeathered patch on the frenulum and near the eyes of the black stork has a bright red color.

The black stork is slightly smaller in size than the white stork. The length of a black stork's wing is approximately fifty-four centimeters. The average weight of this bird is three kilograms.

Black storks tend to avoid people. The black stork is a very secretive bird. In view of this, when choosing a habitat, storks give preference to old or dense forests and areas near water bodies. Thus, the black stork can be found near swamps, forest lakes and rivers. This species inhabits the forest zone of Eurasia. As for the territory of our country, representatives of this species live in the territory from the Baltic Sea to the Urals, as well as in Southern Siberia up to the Far East (the largest number of black storks nest in Primorye). A separate population of black storks inhabits the south of Russia. These are the forests of the Stavropol Territory, Dagestan, and Chechnya. The wintering place for black storks is South Asia. In addition, black storks can be seen in South Africa - a sedentary population of these birds lives here.

The black stork is a monogamous bird. Able to reproduce only three years after birth. As a rule, the nest is built at a height of ten to twenty meters. These could be rock ledges or tall old trees. A prerequisite is that the nesting sites must be located far from human habitation. The black stork nests once a year. There are cases when the nests of these birds are found high in the mountains. This can be a height reaching 2200 meters above sea level. When building a nest, black storks use twigs and thick branches of trees. Storks hold them together using clay, turf and earth. By analogy with white storks, representatives of this species serve one nest for many years. The end of March - beginning of April is marked by the arrival of black storks at the nesting site. The male, emitting a hoarse whistle and fluffing up his white undertail, invites the female to his nest; the female lays four to seven eggs. Both parents take part in incubation, which lasts approximately thirty days. Black stork chicks appear unevenly due to the fact that incubation begins with the first egg. The color of the chicks that are born is grayish or white. The base of the beak is orange and the tip of the beak is greenish yellow. For about ten days, the offspring only lies in the nest. Then the chicks begin to sit and can stand on their feet only at the age of thirty-five to forty days. The stay of black stork chicks in the nest ranges from fifty-five to sixty-five days. Storks receive food from their parents four or five times a day.

Black storks do not form colonies. Often the nests of these birds are located at a distance of at least six kilometers from each other. The exception is the population of black storks nesting in the Eastern Transcaucasus. Here the nests are located at a distance of only one kilometer. Sometimes you can even see two residential nests of black storks on the same tree.

The voice of a black stork can be heard extremely rarely. Like white storks, these birds are extremely reluctant to give voice. If this happens, it is usually in flight, when black storks produce a rather loud cry. It can be rendered as "chi-ling" or "che-le". Sometimes black storks talk quietly in the nest; during the mating season, representatives of this species emit a loud hiss; These birds also knock with their beaks very rarely. The chicks have a very unpleasant and rough voice.

Attempts have been made to crossbreed white and black storks. In zoos, it has been observed more than once that a male black stork begins to court a female white stork, but it was never possible to obtain hybrid chicks, which is largely due to significant differences in the mating rituals of representatives of these two species.

The Far Eastern stork is a rare bird. The Far Eastern stork is a species related to the white stork. Currently, the population of this species numbers approximately three thousand individuals. The Far Eastern stork is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

The Far Eastern stork has much in common with the white stork. First of all, we are talking about the color of the plumage. In size, the Far Eastern stork is somewhat larger than the black stork. In addition, the Far Eastern stork is endowed with a more powerful beak; The legs of these birds have a bright red color. The beak color is black. Another difference between the two species of storks is the color of the beaks of the chicks - the white stork chicks are endowed with a black beak, while the Far Eastern stork chicks have a reddish-orange beak.

The Far Eastern stork is found only in Russia. In practice this is true. Indeed, almost the entire distribution area of ​​this species falls on the territory of the Russian Federation. The name speaks for itself - these birds nest in the Far East. To be more precise, these are the territories of Primorye and Amur region. In addition, the Far Eastern stork is found in Mongolia, northeastern China and northern Korea. Far Eastern storks gather in flocks quite early and fly away for the winter (south and southeast China).

Far Eastern storks prefer damp places. These birds settle in close proximity to wet places and bodies of water. Their diet includes aquatic and semi-aquatic animals. These are invertebrates and small vertebrates. Far Eastern storks mainly feed on frogs and small fish. When choosing nesting sites, individuals of this species try to avoid the proximity of human settlements. At the same time, the Far Eastern stork rarely builds nests in remote, inaccessible places.

Far Eastern storks build nests high in trees. An indispensable condition when choosing a nesting site is the presence of bodies of water nearby. These can be swamps, lakes, rivers. In addition to trees, other high-rise buildings can become nesting sites. We are talking, for example, about power lines. The diameter of the nest in Far Eastern storks is approximately two meters, and the height of the nest can vary from three to fourteen meters. One nest (as in the case of other storks) serves individuals of this species for many years. Eggs are laid at the end of April. The number of eggs in a clutch ranges from two to six and depends on various conditions. Helpless chicks are born approximately thirty days after laying eggs. The female and male feed their offspring by regurgitating food into their beaks. Far Eastern storks reach sexual maturity at the age of three to four years.

Storks (lat. Siconia) are a genus of fairly large body size, the so-called marsh birds. All representatives of this genus, in strict accordance with the established scientific classification, belong to the order Anciformes or Stork-shaped, as well as the Stork family.

Description of the stork

Representatives of the genus Storks are characterized by the presence of long and naked legs covered with mesh-type skin. The bird has a long, straight and conical beak. The front short toes are connected to each other by a wide membrane and have pinkish claws. In some places there is completely bare skin in the head and neck area.

Appearance

External features are entirely determined by the species characteristics of storks:

• The black stork's upper body is covered with black feathers with greenish and red tints, and the lower part is covered with a white feather. The chest is crowned with rather thick and noticeably shaggy feathers, slightly reminiscent of a fur collar;
• The white-bellied stork is characterized by a predominantly black coloration, as well as pure white underwings and chest. The legs of this stork species are red, and the beak is gray. The skin around the eyes is red, but with the onset of the mating season it acquires a characteristic blue color;
• The white-necked stork has a characteristic black cap on its head, and from the neck area (in the back of the head) to the anterior chest area there is fluffy white plumage. The rest of the plumage is predominantly black with a reddish tint in the shoulder area. There are white feathers on the belly and lower part of the tail, and the coverts are characterized by a dark green color;
• The Malayan woolly-necked stork has black and white main plumage and a red beak. The skin of the face is without feathers, orange in color, with yellowish circles in the eye area. The feathers of adult and young birds outside the breeding season have a more modest, rustic coloring;
• The American stork is characterized by a predominantly white plumage with tail feathers and a black forked tail. The species is distinguished by a blue-gray beak with orange-red leathery areas around the eyes and an iris of pure white coloring;
• White storks have a characteristic white plumage with black tips on the wings, a long neck, as well as a long and thin red beak, long and reddish legs. Due to the blackish coloration when the wings are folded, in Ukraine the bird of this species was called “blackgut”.

Rare Far Eastern storks resemble a white stork in appearance, but have a more powerful black beak and legs that are bright red. Representatives of this species have red, unfeathered skin around the eyes. The chicks have white feathers and a reddish-orange beak.

Character and lifestyle

Very common white storks are inhabitants of low-lying meadows and often settle in wetlands, and also often select areas for nesting near people's homes. Looking for food, storks calmly and slowly walk around the area, but when they see their prey, they quickly run up and quickly grab it.

This is interesting! Vocal communication is replaced by clicking the beak, in which the stork throws its head back far to the back and retracts its tongue back, due to which the sound is amplified by the well-resonating oral cavity.

Far Eastern storks also live close to ponds and wet places, but the most important difference between the lifestyle of this species and the white stork is the choice of the most remote and inaccessible places for nests, far from residential settlements.

How long do storks live?

The average life expectancy of different representatives of the Stork genus directly depends on the characteristics of the species and their habitat. White storks are able to live in natural conditions for about twenty years, but if the rules of captivity are followed, this figure is often much higher.

Many representatives of the Far Eastern storks in captivity lived even to the age of half a century. According to observations, the maximum average lifespan of a black stork in captivity can be three decades, but in natural conditions this figure rarely exceeds sixteen years.

Types of storks

Currently, there are several species of representatives of the Stork genus:

• () is a fairly large bird, distinguished by its original plumage color. Height does not exceed 110-112 cm with an average weight of 3.0 kg and a wingspan of 150-155 cm;
• White-bellied stork (Siconia abdimii) - a relatively small bird, no more than 72-74 cm long and weighing up to one kilogram;
• White-necked stork (Ciconia eriscorus) - a medium-sized representative of the Stork genus, with a body length in the range of 80-90 cm;
• Malayan woolly-necked storks (Сiсonia stormi) - a rare species of the Stork family with a body length of no more than 75-91 cm;
• American stork (Ciconia maguari) - a South American representative of the Stork family, characterized by a body length of 90 cm, a wingspan of no more than 115-120 cm and an average weight of 3.4-3.5 kg;
• White storks (Siсonia сiconia) - large wading birds with a maximum height of at least 1.0-1.25 m with a wingspan of 15.5-2.0 m and a body weight of 3.9-4.0 kg.

This is interesting! The image of a stork is quite widespread in heraldry, and the presence of such a bird on the coat of arms symbolizes forethought and vigilance.

Range, habitats

In Europe there are a couple of species belonging to the genus Storks: the Black Stork (C. nigra) and the White Stork (C. alba). These species belong to the category of migratory birds that appear in Central Europe between February and March. Representatives of the species are not found at all in England.

White-bellied storks live in Africa, from Ethiopia to South Africa, and white-necked storks are found only in Indochina and India, the Philippines and in the tropics of Africa, on the island of Java. Malayan woolly-necked storks are common in Sumatra and Borneo, and are found in southern Thailand, western Malaysia, and Brunei. The bird prefers freshwater biotopes untouched by progress with adjacent low-lying forest zones, and also settles near rivers or in floodplain areas.

This is interesting! The population is found in northern Korea and northeastern China, as well as Mongolia. For wintering, the gregarious species flies to the south and southeast of China, where it lives in humid areas in the form of shallow ponds and rice fields.

American storks currently live in South America and eastern Venezuela, all the way to Argentina, where they prefer to inhabit exclusively wet areas and agricultural lands. The distribution area of ​​the Far Eastern stork is mainly represented by the territory of our country, including the Far Eastern territory, where the habitats include Primorye and Amur region, the river basins of the Amur, Zeya and Ussuri.

Diet of storks

The prey of the American stork most often includes fish and frogs, crayfish and small rodents, snakes and water insects, as well as some invertebrates. White storks feed on:

• small vertebrates;
• various invertebrate animals;
• frogs and toads;
• snakes and;
• large locusts and grasshoppers;
• earthworms;
• mole crickets and May beetles;
• dead or diseased small fish;
• not too large lizards;
• mammals in the form of mice and rats, moles, hares, and;
• small birds.

White-bellied storks feed mainly on caterpillars and locusts, and also use other fairly large insects as food. White-necked storks are most often found in park areas or near water bodies, where they actively destroy fish, frogs and toads, snakes and lizards, and also actively feed on some invertebrate animals.

Reproduction and offspring

Initially, all representatives of the order Anciformes or Storks from the Stork family nested mainly in trees, near human habitation, where they built a very large nest from branches, the weight of which could easily be several centners. Subsequently, such birds began to actively use the roofs of residential buildings or any other buildings to create nests. Currently, storks are increasingly making nests on high-voltage power poles and factory pipes.. The nest created by the stork can serve as a feathered refuge for breeding offspring for several years.

The male stork arrives at the nesting sites several days earlier than the females of this species appear there. Birds arrive in our country at the end of March or at the beginning of April. The male will consider the very first female to appear near the nest as his own, but very often several females fight for the right to give birth to offspring. The male stork takes care of the chosen female, making quite frequent and loud clicking sounds with his beak. Similar sounds are made by the male when approaching the nest of a foreign male, after which the owner of the nest uses his beak to attack and strike the enemy.

Depending on the species, the number of eggs laid can vary from two to seven, but most often there are from two to five. Stork eggs are covered with a white shell and are incubated by the pair together. As a rule, males incubate their offspring during the daytime, and females exclusively at night. During the process of changing the brood hen, the birds make a special clacking sound with their beaks and use ritual poses.

Incubation lasts just over a month, after which sighted but completely helpless chicks hatch from the eggs. At the very first time, the hatched stork chicks feed mainly on earthworms, which are actively thrown out of the throats of their parents. Mature chicks are quite capable of independently snatching food directly from the parent’s beak.

This is interesting! The oldest currently known is the stork's nest, which was built by birds of this species on a tower located in eastern Germany and served as a feathered home in the period from 1549 to 1930.

Adult birds vigilantly monitor and control the behavior and health of all offspring, so chicks that are too weak or sick are mercilessly thrown out of the nest. About eight weeks after birth, young storks take flight for the first time under the care of their parents. For almost two, and sometimes three more weeks, such storks are fed and taught to fly well, improving their flying skills by their parents. However, storks acquire complete independence in the last ten days of summer, after which they fly away to warm places for the winter. Adult storks migrate to wintering grounds around September. Birds reach sexual maturity at three years, but prefer to nest later, at about the age of six.