Stork

Stork, popular name for a family of about 19 species of birds allied to the herons and ibises. They are large birds with long legs, toes webbed at the base, and a strong, straight, pointed bill longer than the head.

The white stork, a common migratory native of Eurasia, is about 1 m (about 3.5 ft) long. The head, neck, and body are pure white, the wings partly black, and the bill and legs red. The neck is long and generally arched in its carriage. The breast feathers are long and pendulous, and the bird often has its bill half hidden among them. The stork frequents marshy places, feeding on eels and other fish, amphibians, reptiles, young birds, and small mammals. It makes a crude nest of sticks and reeds on the tops of tall trees, ruins, or disused chimneys. The stork has no voice. In flight, it moves powerfully and very high in the air. Another, somewhat smaller species, the black stork, with the plumage of the upperparts glossy black and the underparts white, is also common in many parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The maguari stork is very similar to the white stork. It is found in marshes and savannas of South America from the llanos of Colombia and Venezuela to the Pampas of Argentina, congregating in large flocks where food is abundant.

In southern Asia and the East Indies are found storks known as adjutant birds (see Marabou), which have bare heads and necks and a long pouch—possibly an air reservoir—hanging from the neck. The largest species is about 2 m (about 7 ft) tall. These scavengers are protected in India.

The only birds of the stork family that inhabit North America are the wood stork, formerly called wood ibis, found in the southern United States, and the jabiru, which occurs from southern Mexico to Argentina. The wood stork is about 1 m (about 3.5 ft) long, with a black head and bare neck; the wings and tail are partly black, and the rest of the plumage is white. Wood storks gather in large flocks, and they nest in colonies.

Scientific classification: Storks make up the family Ciconiidae. The white stork is classified as Ciconia ciconia, the black stork as Ciconia nigra, and the maguari stork as Ciconia maguari. Adjutant birds make up the genus Leptoptilos. The largest adjutant bird is classified as Leptoptilos dubius. The wood stork is classified as Mycteria americana, the jabiru as Jabiru mycteria.