What do storks eat? Bird stork: species, description, photo, habitat

A stork is a large bird, externally spectacular, and it uses many fashion brands in its collections of clothing and accessories. But if you can see these birds often on dresses and handbags, in reality some species of storks are even listed in the Red Book. The number of black storks (Ciconia nigra), the Far Eastern (Ciconia boyciana) is also decreasing rapidly.

The family of storks consists of 17 species and 9 genera, the birds have a long graceful neck, a large body, long, unopened legs with a swimming membrane and a sharp beak. Different species of these birds differ from each other externally. What do storks eat, where do they settle, how do they rear their offspring? What are the main species of these birds still have the opportunity to meet? For all these questions, you will find answers in the article.

White stork

The Latin name is Ciconia ciconia. This species can be recognized by the snow-white color of the tail and the black tips of the wings. Due to the contrasting color (legs and beak of the bird are bright red) the white stork has become a muse for many Asian artists, its image can often be found in Chinese and Japanese paintings along with images of cranes. The adult bird weighs an average of 4 kg, females - a little less. The wings of the white stork reach 60 centimeters in length. Attempts were made to cross a white stork with a black one, but nothing happened, because their marriage rituals are too different. White storks are monogamous.

Black stork

The Latin name is Ciconia nigra. Representatives of this species are slightly inferior to white storks in size: weigh an average of 3 kg, and their wings do not exceed 55 centimeters in length. The color of the bird is usually not purely black, but with a greenish or red hue. In red, beak, limbs, throat and skin near the eyes are painted. The abdomen of the black stork, whose photo is presented below, is white. A characteristic feature of black storks is monogamous: they choose a partner for life.

Stork-Razinya

The Latin name is Anastomus. This is the common name of the genus, it includes the African stork-razinya, the Indian stork-razynya. The main external difference is a larger beak that does not completely close, there is always a small gap. That's why the bird got that name.

Brazilian Yabiru

The Latin name is Jabiru mycteria. It is a large bird with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters. The tip of the long beak of the stork has a small bend upward. The body of the Brazilian yabir is painted white, and the head, neck and beak - in blue-black. Female are different from males with yellow eyes. The stork's neck, the photo of which you can see below, has a red-orange hue at the base.

Marabou

The Latin name is Leptoptilos. This is the common name of the genus, it includes Javanese, African, Indian marabou. Like the Brazilian yabir, these storks are large, with a large head and massive beak. Even adult birds are more like nasty ducklings than beautiful swans. Wings in length reach 70 centimeters, birds weigh about 5 kg. The marabu has an unofficial name - "adjutant", received by him for the walk, as the military. On the bird's head there is no feathering, as well as on a peculiar neck protrusion, helping to hold a heavy beak. The tail, back and wings are painted in dark gray or black.

Far Eastern Stork

The Latin name is Ciconia boyciana. Refers to endangered species, in Russia the number of these birds does not exceed three thousand. Birds, like black and white storks, are monogamous. Outwardly they resemble white storks, but they are more massive, and their beak is painted black. It has other names: Chinese, black-footed stork. The skin around the eyes of the Far Eastern storks is colored red. Extermination of individuals of this species entails not only a fine, but also deprivation of liberty.

Stork feeding

The main tool for hunting for storks is the beak. What do storks eat? The basis of the diet is animal food: from small insects, mollusks, pests and amphibians and ending with small mammals. Often you can see a stork eating snakes and frogs. Stork, the description of which is presented to your attention in the article, is able to catch a small bird, mouse, hare or ground squirrel. Usually, storks are slow, but they can also pursue a particularly interesting prey. It is not uncommon for these birds to cross large (5-10 km) distances from the nesting place in order to obtain enough food for the nestlings.

Food stork swallows whole, can bring a large number of their children. The structure of these birds also allows you to bring water in your beak. Hunting, the stork is easily able to disguise itself under the surrounding vegetation, it remains immobile or walks very slowly. Sounds these birds almost do not publish, so do not attract attention to the prey. Sometimes for lunch the stork can choose the eggs of other birds.

What the storks eat, we already know. And I wonder, in what quantity? After all, the bird is huge, and as you already know, food can swallow whole. For normal functioning, the body of an adult stork needs an average of 700 grams of food per day. Storks are excellent hunters, there are cases when they caught up to 50 mice in one hour.

Lifespan

How many storks live? In ideal artificial conditions, birds can live more than a quarter of a century. And how many live storks in natural conditions? A rare individual lives up to 15 years. Prevent the long life of storks such factors as the ecological situation, natural selection, disease, lack of food, harm caused by man and predators. Sometimes representatives of this family themselves shorten the life span of their fellow humans, pecking sick birds. It is noticed that the storks last longer where the energy is positive, where there are no people cursing nearby, where peace and tranquility prevail.

Places of wintering storks

A stork is a migratory bird, except for South African birds that live in one place, not flying away anywhere. They are looking for places for wintering, where there will be enough warmth and plenty of food. Old and young specimens of storks go separately for wintering in warm regions. Typically, this occurs between late August and October. The flight takes place during the day, birds fly high, directions for European and eastern storks are different.

Birds, whose habitats are located west of the Elbe, go to the Iberian Peninsula, then move towards Africa via Gibraltar. As a result, birds winter in the west of Africa, in the area between the desert of the Sahara and the tropics. Here, European storks, birds from the Iberian Peninsula, and from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria hibernate.

Birds, whose nesting grounds are located to the east of the Elbe, are sent to winter for a long stretch between Sudan and South Africa. They fly first to the Bosphorus, then cross the lands of Asia Minor and Palestine, fly over the Nile River, before reaching their destination. Part of the pack may remain in South Arabia, part of it chooses for the wintering of Ethiopia, while others continue their long journey, some reach India.

There are different places for wintering of storks and depending on the species: whites experience the winter in Africa, Pakistan, India, Korea, on the Japanese islands. Black - south of the Sahara, in the Ganges basin, in the south-eastern part of China.

About chicks

More often, there are more eggs in the clutch than the chicks hatch: some eggs remain unfertilized. Nasizhivanie lasts from 30 to 46 days.

Small aistat have vision, but otherwise helpless during the first 70 days of life. Nestlings white and fluffy, after hatching about 10 days are lying, and the first 7 weeks are stuck in the place of birth - the nest. Even after the chick has learned to fly, parents help him in search of food for 2-3 weeks.

While the stork's chicks are in the nest, their weight can exceed the weight of their parents, but gradually their nutrition is limited. The storks throw out the sick, weak chicks from the nest, leaving only those able to fight for life. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of three, birds begin to nest later - at 6 years.

Habitat

What determines the habitat of storks? The bird, in order to find the food suitable for it, often settles on swamps, damp meadows and ponds with standing water. The climate for storks is preferable to tropical, moderate or hot. Marabu build nests in trees, black storks prefer forests, white ones - lowlands, yabir - swampy terrain.

White storks live in Europe, in North-West Africa, in Asia Minor and Central Asia, in the Amur and Primorye, on the Japanese islands. Black storks live in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, in the south to the Persian Gulf, in the north - to St. Petersburg, Tomsk. For a black stork, the preferred nesting areas are those where there are old forest tracts, impenetrable swamps. This bird does not like to live with people.

Nests of storks

The nests of these birds take up a lot of space: their diameter reaches 2 meters, and the weight - more than 200 kg. Most often birds choose roofs of houses or trees, but there are also unexpected places where nests of storks were found, for example, a lamppost. Earlier, when the roofs of man's dwellings were often thatched, storks settled there. At present, their nests can be found on water towers, haystacks.

Materials for the construction of nests: branches, branches, straw, grass, rags, wool, paper. The nest can accommodate adult parents and up to 7 eggs. Often storks settle where there are already dwellings of their relatives. As a rule, storks live in the same nest for more than a year, build it very carefully, and repair them as needed.

Legends and interesting facts about storks

What the storks eat, where they live, what species are common - you already know that. In conclusion, I would like to tell some legends and interesting facts about these incomparable birds. Storks in many countries are sacred, for example, in Japan it is forbidden to hunt them. In ancient Greece, it was customary to sink to the knees at the sight of the first stork. There are many legends about storks, which can not be said of any sparrow.

The most mysterious sight is black storks: they prefer to live as far from people as possible.

Legends

• A curious legend explains the red coloration of the nose and legs of storks. Once, this legend says, God handed a man a bag full of snakes, hedgehogs and other reptiles. A person had to get rid of them: burn, throw in the sea, bury or simply leave untouched, but disobeyed. The bag was unleashed out of curiosity, and the recalcitrant was punished with a life-long transformation into a bird-eater of different evil spirits. The former man was ashamed of what he had done, because the storks still have a red nose and limbs to this day.
• Ukrainian legend: once on a house with two babies, the storks nested. There was a fire, but the owners were not at home, then the storks carried the children out of the fire, slightly singing the tips of their wings. Since then, all storks are black, and the beak and legs are red.

Interesting Facts

• Marabou is a predator and scavenger, so that not all members of the family of storks feed on frogs and beetles;
• Storks are not inclined to change their nest often, there are cases when several families of birds lived in the same nest for more than 300 years;
• Males of the stork are not particularly choosy: they create a couple with that female who first visits them in the house (nest);
• The incubation of eggs is not only carried out by females, but also by males;
• Ancient Romans believed that storks-chicks, growing up, feed their parents, but this is not so;
• During flights the storks can fall asleep for a short while to regain strength, while continuing their movement.

Signs associated with storks:

• German sign: if a girl meets spring with two storks, this year will bring her a marriage, if one is still unmarried;
• A sign from Morocco: storks were considered people from a distant island, able to turn to birds and back;
• Moldovans consider this bird a symbol of winemaking and growing grapes;
• In Turkey it was believed that the house on which the storks nest was protected from fire and lightning;
• The Polish legend says that storks spin in the sky for a reason, and drive away the clouds;
• Armenians consider storks as patrons of agriculture.