13-6-2023 MADRID ZOO PARK, ESPANA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

 The White Stork is a migratory bird that heralds the end of winter with its arrival (around February).

Very similar to the American Stork (also called "White Stork" or "Common Stork"), it neither one of the largest nor the smallest of its species. It can reach 115 centimeters in length, with a wing span of up to 195 centimeters.

Adults have orange and red beaks and legs (the beak measures between 14 and 19 centimeters). In young individuals, these parts are dark gray.

When it returns,  it always goes back to the nest it abandoned the previous year. Nests are usually built on top of towers and on churches: they are platforms of twigs up to two meters in diameter.

First the males arrive, then the females: first they rebuild their nest, then they pair up. The sound made by the stork to communicate with other storks is the  noisy clattering of its beak..

22-8-2022 ATHENS ZOO, GREECE - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

2-3-2022 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

1-3-2022 ERMITA DE PERALVILLO, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

1-3-2022 PERALVILLO, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

14-8-2021 CRISTO DE LAGUNA, SALAMANCA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

28-5-2021 MERIDA, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

 

26-5-2021 MERIDA, ESTREMADURA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

 

24-5-2021 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4733-Ciconia-ciconia

6-1-2019 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

14-10-2018 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

8-7-2018 TABLAS DE DAIMIEL, LA MANCHA - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

30-7-2017 CENTRAL PARK, BUDAPEST - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

The White stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It eats a wide range of animal prey and takes most of its food from the ground. It does not pair for life but both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. 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.

White storks are found across Europe, Asia Minor, the northern part of Africa, and the Middle East. By the winter months, they migrate into tropical regions of Africa, some parts of the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. White storks prefer to feed in grassy meadows, agricultural fields, pastures, steppes, savannas, and shallow wetlands avoiding areas overgrown with tall grass and shrubs. Breeding grounds include open grasslands, particularly grassy areas which are wet or periodically flooded, and less in areas with taller vegetation cover such as forest and shrubland.

White storks are long-legged wading birds. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The irises are dull brown or grey, and the peri-orbital skin is black. The adult has a bright red beak and red legs, the colouration of which is derived from carotenoids in the diet. As with other storks, the wings are long and broad enabling the bird to soar. In flapping flight its wingbeats are slow and regular. It flies with its neck stretched forward and with its long legs extended well beyond the end of its short tail. It walks at a slow and steady pace with its neck upstretched. In contrast, it often hunches its head between its shoulders when resting. Upon hatching, the young White stork is partly covered with short, sparse, whitish down feathers. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and flight feathers. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip. By the time it fledges, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip. The bills gain the adults' red colour the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.