White stork - description, habitat, interesting facts

Storks are heard by everyone, a person constantly comes up with fairy tales featuring this bird. Also, legends and, of course, explanations of parents in front of the child on the topic "Where do the children come from?" Some attribute the birth of the baby to the fact that the stork allegedly brought him. They compose verses about a bird and sing songs, they praise it. What is so unusual about representatives of this breed besides an elegant appearance? Let's get it together.

Description

To date, there are more than 12 species of birds of this breed group. Often there are white individuals that differ in a black canticle on the wing, as well as a distinguished beak and long red claws. The bird is famous for its elongated and refined neck, its whole appearance speaks of perfection.

A distinctive feature of these individuals from self-similar is the proud gait. When the birds fold their wings, they look half dark. There is no sexual dimorphism in terms of color; individuals of female and male gender are identical.

As for the mass, storks weigh about 4-5 kg. with a growth of 130 cm. Agree, impressive. Their wingspan reaches 2 m. In size, unless, it is possible to identify a female, it is smaller. But this is a dubious enterprise, many are mistaken.

Describing such a beautiful bird, one cannot help but touch upon the cycle of its existence. Individuals of the family under discussion live about 20 years. Cases were recorded in which the stork lived to be 30 years old. When a bird exists in captivity, rates increase. Far Eastern individuals survived to 40–45 years. Birds belong to centenarians, while their relatives, black storks on the water survived to 18 years, and in captivity to 30 years.

The rhythm of life

When the stork is on the way, it knows the road so well that it can even sleep. The experts made this conclusion, because during the flight, the bird’s pulse drops and breathing becomes deep. However, the hearing aid operates at an accelerated pace, so the individual feels how quickly and where the other brothers in the pack fly. Roughly speaking, the stork sleeps and at the physiological level follows other birds.

When this family plans to go for wintering, not one flock of birds gathers, but many. They prefer to winter in Africa, the locals call them stork eaters of locusts. The thing is that they feed on these insects.

In their studies, specialists study banding when observing these individuals. They use satellites, equipping the body of feathered friends with special transmitters. The signal is transmitted to the satellite, transmitted to scientists, they study it. Thanks to this, experts know for sure what kind of lifestyle the family members lead.

Habitat

Stork prefers to settle in Asian and European countries. Since the presented territories are huge in nature, the area of ​​distribution of birds gradually narrows to the east.

When individuals prepare to winter, they do it in India or Africa. Where winters are comparatively warm, storks remain without flying away. This applies more to Europe and Africa.

When the birds arrive in their usual place for the winter, they immediately try to get into large flocks.They include more than one thousand birds, so this feature looks impressive.

Young growth is not always sent to winter along with older family members. They may stay because the flight plans to be long. Storks migrate during the day, soar in flight, rising to a decent height. Interestingly, birds try to avoid areas above the sea.

Nest building

Specialists who study behavior and everything related to birds pay increased attention to how they build nests. Before proceeding with the manipulations, storks will follow people for a long time.

Therefore, in ancient times there was a belief that was carried over to the present. That is, if the nest of this bird appeared, replenishment in the family and an overall improvement in the condition of the family are soon observed.

There were cases when, after lengthy observations of people, storks settled directly on the roof of their house. When a person finds a nest, he is not at all upset, believing that he will soon become very happy. Some enthusiasts specially equip the top of the building so that the birds twist the nest there.

Nutrition in nature

By their natural characteristics, these birds feed on vertebrates as well as invertebrate creatures. They eat vipers, frogs, small fish, lizards, worms, bugs, grasshoppers.

Chicks are fed from the beak. They get a meal in marshy and low-lying places. In addition, they feed on rats and mice, moles, and other small birds.

In most cases, the birds represented carry out their hunting activities in shallow water. It is worth knowing that storks do not like to go into the depths. Also, birds can eat on land. Birds consume all kinds of insects and freshly cut grass.

In the wild, these individuals are often collected in places where people burn grass. In such places you can observe a huge concentration of various birds. On scorched fields, individuals can enjoy plenty of insect larvae.

The birds under consideration have one characteristic feature, they are able to stay in one place for a long time waiting for prey. Also, storks often feast on small rodents. Birds also wait for the prey near the hole, and then attack.

If birds hunt in troubled waters, they often act at random, since in such an environment they cannot see anything. Storks immerse their beak in water and close it from time to time. As a result, they come across some living creatures.

Such birds are capable of catching potential food even on the fly. Storks easily catch various insects and even dragonflies. The undoubted advantage of the feathered birds is that they destroy dangerous insects. Among these, beet weevil, bug-bug and bug-bug should be distinguished.

In addition, storks are of great benefit to farmers. Such birds effectively hunt a bear. It is worth noting that an adult needs 0.7 kg. food. Interestingly, when feeding young animals, the amount of food increases significantly. It takes birds all day to find food.

Interesting Facts

1. It is worth knowing that not all representatives of this species belong to harmless birds. In Africa, there is a species (marabu). Such storks are predators, and they also feed on carrion. Locals are accustomed to such birds and do not pay attention to them.
2. These representatives, who live in the vastness of Russia, fly away to winter in the warmer climes. Often their second homeland is India and Africa.
3. It is interesting to know that such birds feed not only on frogs and insects. Storks cope with poisonous snakes. We can say that for them it is even a treat.
4. After the birds winter, they return to their usual nests. In their house, storks begin to restore order.It is worth noting that the birds represented are very attached to their home.
5. It is very interesting to know that there was the oldest nest in which not a single generation of storks lived. Birds have inhabited this place for 380 years.
6. It is worth noting that during the construction of the nest, it can reach up to 1.5 m in diameter. Moreover, its weight is up to a quarter ton. The male stays with the female who first flies into his nest.
7. As for reproduction, after laying the eggs, the pair begins to hatch them in turn. Often the male spends time in the nest during the day, and the female opposite, at night.
8. If the birds made nests in crowded places near houses, there were cases when the nests caught fire. At the same time, human buildings burned down. This was due to the fact that storks used smoldering branches from bonfires to build the nest.
9. Storks are quite cruel to their offspring. If the chicks are weak or sick, their parents will throw them out of the nest without any questions. Youngsters learn to fly at the age of two months.
10. Separately, it is worth mentioning that only in Japan does this law apply, which prohibits hunting for storks.
11. During the flight, the wingspan of an adult can reach up to 2 m.
12. In Italy, storks were completely exterminated in the 17th century.
13. During flights to winter, these individuals cover a distance of about 10 thousand km.
14. Always during rest and sleep, storks stand on 1 foot. However, to change their legs, they do not wake up.
15. Often, eagles hunt and attack the birds in question. It is worth noting that it is the white storks that live in Russia the most.
16. It is also interesting that the white storks during settlement try to stay closer to the person, the black individuals, on the contrary, shun people.

White storks are a very interesting species of birds. They have a wayward character. Specifically, these representatives are peaceful and to some extent help people in agriculture, destroying various insects and pests.

Video: White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)