The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.
A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, and both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.
The white stork has been rated as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared, but changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw it decline and disappear from parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the white stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite; the plumage is home to chewing lice and feather mites, while the large nests maintain a diverse range of mesostigmatic mites. This conspicuous species has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best-known is the story of babies being brought by storks.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Ciconia ciconia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22697691A86248677. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697691A86248677.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
The whitestork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults...
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes...
The Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana; Japanese: コウノトリ Konotori) is a large, white bird with black-feathered wings in the stork family Ciconiidae. The...
population occurs in Southern Africa. Unlike the closely related whitestork, the black stork is a shy and wary species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually...
Richard the Stork (Released in North America as A Stork's Journey, German: Überflieger — Kleine Vögel, großes Geklapper and also known as Little Bird's...
openbill or Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the...
Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the whitestork (Ciconia ciconia) as the type species. The genus name is the Latin word for "stork", and was originally recorded...
whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like...
snails. Storks are threatened by habitat loss, pesticide use, and intentional hunting. Four species of stork—the milky stork, oriental stork, greater...
Pfeilstorch (German for 'arrow stork', pronounced [ˈpfaɪ̯l.ˌʃtɔɐ̯ç]; plural Pfeilstörche, [-ˌʃtœɐ̯.çə]) is a stork that gets injured by an arrow while...
The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae native to sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds in both wet and...
the whitestork; albeit slightly larger. It is the only species of its genus to occur in the New World and is one of the only three New World stork species...
The White Eagle". Info-Poland.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016. "Poland salutes the whitestork". TheNews...
called a stork party (named after the folk myth that a whitestork delivers babies), and typically takes place during the mother's 6th month. Stork parties...
The WhiteStork Synagogue (Polish: Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem) is a nineteenth-century synagogue in Wrocław, Poland. Rededicated in 2010 after a decade-long...
Common ostrich Emu Indian peafowl Java sparrow Painted stork Rose-ringed parakeet Sarus crane Whitestork Gharial Green iguana Indian cobra Indian python Indian...
cavity, a hole in a building, or the disused nest of a European magpie or whitestork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks...
скучай (Don't Be Sad) Love Story Черный дрозд и белый аист (Blackbird and WhiteStork) Если я останусь один (If I Am Alone) Еще, еще (More, More) Мама лето...
announced that he is set to star in Netflix political thriller series WhiteStork. Hiddleston is in talks to reprise his role in a second series of The...
6,000 metres (20,000 feet) It can reach this height while migrating. Whitestork Ciconia ciconia Ciconiidae 4,800 metres (16,000 feet). It can reach this...
counterpart of Big Bird in Sesamstraat Wattoo Wattoo, an oval-shaped black and white bird in Wattoo Wattoo Super Bird Woodstock, a bird of unknown species in...
Klepetan and Malena were a pair of whitestorks (Ciconia ciconia) who became renowned in Croatia for their romantic endeavors. Between 2001 and 2021, Klepetan...
pheasant Rock dove Adjutant stork Painted storkWhitestorkWhite necked stork Black-necked stork Cinereous vulture King vulture White Backed vulture Turkey...