Stork description. What do storks eat? Stork bird: species, description, photo, habitat

Where do storks live and where do storks spend the winter? The story about storks for children contains a lot of educational information.

Where does the stork live?

The white stork is a large wading bird from the stork family. Storks are monogamous birds and live in pairs.

The white stork lives in Europe and Asia. In Europe, its range extends in the north to southern Sweden and the Leningrad region, east to Smolensk, Bryansk and Lipetsk, and in recent years the range has been expanding eastward.

Where do storks winter?

They winter in Africa (sub-Saharan Africa) and Asia (India, Pakistan, Indochina, etc.). They return home quite early: at the end of March - beginning of April.

Where do storks nest?

They usually nest near wet meadows, swamps and standing water bodies. Nests are made on roofs, on trees near houses, water towers, etc. Stork nests are large, a couple builds them together. It happens that when building a nest, storks use twigs and firebrands that smolder. Sometimes this leads to a fire. What causes such attention of storks to smoldering objects is unknown, but this is precisely what is connected with the belief that storks can set fire to the house of the owner who destroyed their nest.

Stork nests are bulky, usually have a diameter of at least a meter, and if an old nest is occupied, which is renovated and completed by storks, then the diameter can reach one and a half meters. The construction of a new nest lasts approximately 8 days. Occasionally, white storks build a second nest, which serves them for sleeping or as a guard post.

There are from 1 to 7 eggs in a clutch, usually 4-5. Sometimes it happens that parents throw one chick out of the nest. Although, from a human point of view, this may seem cruel, birds have a different logic: this is a chick, perhaps, if it is sick, it will not be able to survive anyway.

What do storks eat?

White storks, like other storks, feed on animal food: frogs, lizards, insects, fish and small mammals.

Legends associated with storks. In general, many legends are associated with storks: they bring happiness to the house where they nest. The stork is a symbol of family well-being; it was considered a sacred bird. The storks were not to be disturbed. Another legend claims that storks have their own “courts”. According to legend, the “guilty” in these courts are sentenced to death. This legend has a biological basis: in the fall, storks can actually kill weak birds that are unable to withstand a long flight.

Everyone knows what a stork looks like. If you haven’t met in person, many people know the stork from photos or from numerous brands that use the bird’s image in their logos.

Storks belong to the order Cioridae (anklefish) and are part of the large stork family. The genus of storks includes 7 species of birds, common in Eurasia, Africa and South America.

Stork in flight.

Description

These are large, long-legged, long-necked birds, about 100 cm high. The wingspan of an adult reaches 1.5-2 m. Their legs are devoid of feathers and covered with red mesh skin, and their webbed fingers end in short pink claws. There are also patches of bare red or yellow skin on the neck and head. The straight, elongated beak has a pointed conical shape. The plumage color is various combinations of black and white. Females are slightly smaller than males, but otherwise the birds look the same.

An interesting feature of storks is the almost complete absence of voice. These birds are extremely taciturn and use hissing and clicking beaks to communicate.

Storks live alone or in small groups, and their existence is closely connected with various freshwater biotopes where birds feed and nest.

Stork in the field.

What do storks eat?

Storks eat exclusively animal food. Different species consume fish, shellfish, frogs, snakes, poisonous snakes, lizards, and large insects to a greater or lesser extent. The diet often includes small mammals: rats, mice, moles, gophers, rabbits. Storks stalk their prey by walking leisurely, and when they notice the victim, they run up and grab it. The offspring are first fed by belching from semi-digested food, and then earthworms are thrown into the chicks' mouths.

The stork stayed for the winter.

Features of reproduction

Storks are monogamous and the male and female jointly build the nest, incubate and feed the offspring. The mating rituals of the species differ, for example, the male white stork does not choose a companion, but considers the first female to fly up to the nest as his.

These birds build nests that are unique in size and durability, which are used from generation to generation. Therefore, one of the favorite topics of professional photographers is photos of storks in the nest. The record belongs to white storks, who built and occupied a nest on one of the German towers for almost 4 centuries.

Females lay from 1 to 7 eggs, the incubation period lasts about 30 days. Up to 1.5-2 months, the chicks are completely dependent on their parents, and in the fall the family breaks up. Birds reach sexual maturity at 3 years, and create their own families at 4-6 years. In the wild, storks live for about 20 years; in captivity they can live twice as long.

Stork nest in a village near Nikolaev, Ukraine.

Storks in the nest.

Stork in the nest.

The most famous, numerous and widespread species of storks, one of the symbols of Belarus. Most of them nest in Europe and Asia, and winter in India and Africa. Small populations of Western Europe and South Africa live sedentary.

The height of adult individuals reaches 100-120 cm with a body weight of about 4 kg. The plumage is completely white, only the tips of the wings are black, the beak and limbs are red. The folded wings cover the back of the body, which looks black, which is why in Ukraine this bird is called the Blackgut.

The white stork nests on the roofs of residential and commercial buildings, power line supports, and chimneys of abandoned factories. It builds giant nests; small birds nest in their walls - starlings, sparrows, wagtails. There are from 1 to 7 white eggs in a tray, incubation lasts for 33 days. Weak and sick chicks are mercilessly thrown out of the nest. The flight of young birds occurs 55 days after birth; after another 2 weeks, young birds become independent and, without waiting for their parents, go to wintering.

Stork on takeoff.

White stork in the sky.

White stork in flight.

White stork in flight.

The bird is also known as the black-billed stork, the Chinese stork, or simply the Far Eastern stork. Initially it was considered a subspecies of the white stork, but has recently been identified as a separate species. The population is about 3 thousand individuals, which are protected by Russia, China and Japan as rare, endangered birds.

The nesting sites of the Far Eastern stork are located in the Amur region and Primorye, on the Korean peninsula, Mongolia and northeastern China. The birds spend the winter in rice fields and swamps in the southern regions of China.

Unlike the white stork, these birds are larger, their beak is black and more massive, and their legs are colored intense red. The main difference is the area of ​​bare red skin around the eyes. These birds avoid people and make nests in swampy, inaccessible areas. Their nests are as high and wide as those of the white stork. The clutch consists of 2-6 eggs.

Far Eastern white stork in flight.

A numerous but little-studied species, widespread throughout Eurasia. The largest number of birds is found in the swampy areas of the Belarusian Zvonets reserve; in Russia, the largest population lives in the Primorsky Territory. For the winter, black storks migrate to southern Asia, with the exception of birds that live sedentary in southern Africa.

These storks are of medium size, about 100 cm high and weighing up to 3 kg. The color is black with a slight greenish or copper tint. The lower chest, belly and undertail are white. The limbs, beak and skin around the eyes are red.

The black stork avoids humans and nests in old dense forests near swamps and shallow reservoirs, sometimes in the mountains. The nests are built high and massive, the clutch contains from 4 to 7 eggs. After 30 days of incubation, the chicks hatch one by one and are completely helpless for about 10 days. The ability to stand on their feet appears only 35-40 days after birth, and young storks leave the nest at the age of 2 months.

A black stork catches a fish.

Black stork on the lake.

A species of stork that lives sedentary on the African continent from Ethiopia to South Africa. The bird population is quite large and its condition is not in danger.

These are small storks, about 73 cm high and weighing no more than 1 kg. The birds received their name due to the white color of the chest and underwings, forming a contrast with the main black plumage. The white-bellied stork has an olive-gray beak. Its legs and eye area are red, and during the breeding season, a patch of bare skin at the base of its beak turns bright blue.

The local name of the bird is rain stork, this is due to the beginning of nesting, which occurs during the rainy season, when the birds gather in large groups on rocky shores and trees. The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs.

White-bellied stork on a dried tree.

A numerous species of storks, widespread in Africa and Asia. Three subspecies live in the tropical forests of Kenya and Uganda, on the islands of Borneo, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok and Java, in the Philippines, Indochina and India.

The height of an adult stork is 80-90 cm. The birds are black with a reddish tint on the shoulders and green on the wings. The belly and undertail are white, and there is a black cap on the head. A distinctive feature of the white-necked stork is its snow-white lush plumage, reminiscent of a scarf, draped from the back of the head and neck to the middle of the chest.

White-necked stork in flight.

The white-necked stork spread its wings.

A white-necked stork bathes.

A South American species of stork that lives over a large area from Venezuela to Argentina.

These are birds of medium height, about 90 cm in height and weighing 3.5 kg. In appearance they strongly resemble a white stork, but differ in their black forked tail, red-orange areas of bare skin around the eyes and a white iris. Old birds can be identified by their bluish-gray beaks.

Birds avoid dense forests, preferring to nest in bushes near water. Nests are built at a height of 1 to 6 m, sometimes directly on the ground. The clutch contains 2-3 eggs, newborn chicks are covered with white down, gradually darken and at 3 months they are practically no different from their parents.

American stork in the sky.

One of the rarest storks, classified as an endangered species. The habitat covers the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, Sumatra, Kalimantan, southern Thailand, Brunei and western Malaysia. Birds live secretly, often alone or in small groups, so photos of storks of this species are very rare.

These are small birds with a height of 75 to 91 cm. The plumage color is coal black, the back of the head and undertail are white. The bird's face is completely devoid of plumage and is covered with orange skin with wide yellow “spectacles” around the eyes. The beak and legs are red. The nests are built small, only 50 cm wide and about 15 cm high. The offspring consists of 2 chicks that are able to fly 45 days after birth.

Well, who hasn’t heard of such a beautiful bird as the stork? There are many legends about this bird. This bird is considered a symbol of happiness and kindness. In the old days, many villages in Holland and the Balkans could boast that they had a stork’s nest. We have only two species of storks - white and black. The article will tell you more about these beautiful creatures.

White stork

The most famous for children and adults is the white stork. It can be found in the picture in the primer, as well as in many books for preschool and school-age children. Namely, artists love to depict the white stork. Despite being called white, the bird's feathers are not all one color. The ends of the stork's wings are black. These birds can live both in swampy areas and near humans. They don't consider people dangerous.

Their life expectancy is 20 or 22 years.

When their life cycle ends, the weight of the bird’s nest by that time is one hundred kilograms. After the death of adult birds, their children enter into inheritance rights to the nest. As for food, storks eat mainly frogs, lizards, etc. They feed their babies with chafers or worms. They bring them water in their beaks. After just two months, the babies are able to find food for themselves. For the winter, birds fly to warmer regions. Mostly this is Africa or India.

Black stork

A rather rare bird both in our country and throughout the world is the black stork. In appearance it is also similar to the white stork. Its only difference is the color. Most of its plumage is painted black. Due to the fact that the bird is not often found in nature, people who monitor animals from the “red book” know almost all the habitats of this species. If some new nest appears, then science must definitely find out about it. Unlike the white stork, the black stork is more careful. He builds his nest away from the prying eyes of others. Deep forests become the very place where the stork decides to stay and live. But it’s still quite easy to find out where the bird’s place of residence is. The bird often likes to fly over its nest. Otherwise, the two types of storks are similar. They winter in the same countries, eat the same food, and also build nests according to the same principle.

Red Book for the Black Stork

As mentioned above, black storks are included in the “red book”. They are looked after by special environmental protection organizations. In countries where birds live and winter, they hold conversations with tourists on the topic that it is impossible to destroy the quiet life of storks, that is, you cannot throw stones at the birds, make loud noises that can scare the birds, and, even more so, you cannot hunt on these beautiful and rare creatures. It is especially important to follow all these rules when the birds begin their mating season. But destroying their population is strictly prohibited at any time. Big problems await those who violate this rule.

Conclusion about storks

Storks - beautiful birds that you can look at endlessly. There's definitely something special about them. Perhaps in some ways they are similar to people. Most likely, it is precisely because they greatly value and extol their family. Since ancient times, some of these beautiful representatives of birds have decided that they can trust a person and he will not touch their nests. Over time, these wonderful birds became less and less. Only through the efforts of all the people around us is it possible to preserve and increase black and white storks. In a world where an animal, bird or any other living creature is friendly with a person, there will always be peace and tranquility. Unfortunately or to great joy, people today cannot see dinosaurs. If there were talented scientists at that time, they would still have managed to preserve at least some herbivorous dinosaur.

Surely, at the entrance to a zoo or reserve there would be a queue of those who would like to look at a strange animal that lived many centuries ago. So the task of 21st century specialists is to preserve animals from the “red book”. Let's not disturb them and just enjoy the beauty and superiority of these magnificent storks. And may they always delight us with their life, which is so necessary for us.

Storks (lat. Siconia) are a genus of fairly large body size, the so-called marsh birds. All representatives of this genus, in strict accordance with the established scientific classification, belong to the order Anciformes or Stork-shaped, as well as the Stork family.

Description of the stork

Representatives of the genus Storks are characterized by the presence of long and naked legs covered with mesh-type skin. The bird has a long, straight and conical beak. The front short toes are connected to each other by a wide membrane and have pinkish claws. In some places there is completely bare skin in the head and neck area.

Appearance

External features are entirely determined by the species characteristics of storks:

• The black stork's upper body is covered with black feathers with greenish and red tints, and the lower part is covered with a white feather. The chest is crowned with rather thick and noticeably shaggy feathers, slightly reminiscent of a fur collar;
• The white-bellied stork is characterized by a predominantly black coloration, as well as pure white underwings and chest. The legs of this stork species are red, and the beak is gray. The skin around the eyes is red, but with the onset of the mating season it acquires a characteristic blue color;
• The white-necked stork has a characteristic black cap on its head, and from the neck area (in the back of the head) to the anterior chest area there is fluffy white plumage. The rest of the plumage is predominantly black with a reddish tint in the shoulder area. There are white feathers on the belly and lower part of the tail, and the coverts are characterized by a dark green color;
• The Malayan woolly-necked stork has black and white main plumage and a red beak. The skin of the face is without feathers, orange in color, with yellowish circles in the eye area. The feathers of adult and young birds outside the breeding season have a more modest, rustic coloring;
• The American stork is characterized by a predominantly white plumage with tail feathers and a black forked tail. The species is distinguished by a blue-gray beak with orange-red leathery areas around the eyes and an iris of pure white coloring;
• White storks have a characteristic white plumage with black tips on the wings, a long neck, as well as a long and thin red beak, long and reddish legs. Due to the blackish coloration when the wings are folded, in Ukraine the bird of this species was called “blackgut”.

Rare Far Eastern storks resemble a white stork in appearance, but have a more powerful black beak and legs that are bright red. Representatives of this species have red, unfeathered skin around the eyes. The chicks have white feathers and a reddish-orange beak.

Character and lifestyle

Very common white storks are inhabitants of low-lying meadows and often settle in wetlands, and also often select areas for nesting near people's homes. Looking for food, storks calmly and leisurely walk around the area, but when they see their prey, they quickly run up and quickly grab it.

This is interesting! Vocal communication is replaced by clicking the beak, in which the stork throws its head back far to the back and retracts its tongue back, due to which the sound is amplified by the well-resonating oral cavity.

Far Eastern storks also live close to ponds and wet places, but the most important difference between the lifestyle of this species and the white stork is the choice of the most remote and inaccessible places for nests, far from residential settlements.

How long do storks live?

The average life expectancy of different representatives of the Stork genus directly depends on the characteristics of the species and their habitat. White storks are able to live in natural conditions for about twenty years, but if the rules of captivity are followed, this figure is often much higher.

Many representatives of the Far Eastern storks in captivity lived even to the age of half a century. According to observations, the maximum average lifespan of a black stork in captivity can be three decades, but in natural conditions this figure rarely exceeds sixteen years.

Types of storks

Currently, there are several species of representatives of the Stork genus:

• () is a fairly large bird, distinguished by its original plumage color. Height does not exceed 110-112 cm with an average weight of 3.0 kg and a wingspan of 150-155 cm;
• White-bellied stork (Siconia abdimii) - a relatively small bird, no more than 72-74 cm long and weighing up to one kilogram;
• White-necked stork (Ciconia eriscorus) - a medium-sized representative of the Stork genus, with a body length in the range of 80-90 cm;
• Malayan woolly-necked storks (Сiсonia stormi) - a rare species of the Stork family with a body length of no more than 75-91 cm;
• American stork (Ciconia maguari) - a South American representative of the Stork family, characterized by a body length of 90 cm, a wingspan of no more than 115-120 cm and an average weight of 3.4-3.5 kg;
• White storks (Siсonia сiconia) - large wading birds with a maximum height of at least 1.0-1.25 m with a wingspan of 15.5-2.0 m and a body weight of 3.9-4.0 kg.

This is interesting! The image of a stork is quite widespread in heraldry, and the presence of such a bird on the coat of arms symbolizes forethought and vigilance.

Range, habitats

In Europe there are a couple of species belonging to the genus Storks: the Black Stork (C. nigra) and the White Stork (C. alba). These species belong to the category of migratory birds that appear in Central Europe between February and March. Representatives of the species are not found at all in England.

White-bellied storks live in Africa, from Ethiopia to South Africa, and white-necked storks are found only in Indochina and India, the Philippines and in the tropics of Africa, on the island of Java. Malayan woolly-necked storks are common in Sumatra and Borneo, and are found in southern Thailand, western Malaysia, and Brunei. The bird prefers freshwater biotopes untouched by progress with adjacent low-lying forest zones, and also settles near rivers or in floodplain areas.

This is interesting! The population is found in northern Korea and northeastern China, as well as Mongolia. For wintering, the gregarious species flies to the south and southeast of China, where it lives in humid areas in the form of shallow ponds and rice fields.

American storks currently live in South America and eastern Venezuela, all the way to Argentina, where they prefer to inhabit exclusively wet areas and agricultural lands. The distribution area of ​​the Far Eastern stork is mainly represented by the territory of our country, including the Far Eastern territory, where the habitats include Primorye and Amur region, the river basins of the Amur, Zeya and Ussuri.

Diet of storks

The prey of the American stork most often includes fish and frogs, crayfish and small rodents, snakes and water insects, as well as some invertebrates. White storks feed on:

• small vertebrates;
• various invertebrate animals;
• frogs and toads;
• snakes and;
• large locusts and grasshoppers;
• earthworms;
• mole crickets and May beetles;
• dead or diseased small fish;
• not too large lizards;
• mammals in the form of mice and rats, moles, hares, and;
• small birds.

White-bellied storks feed mainly on caterpillars and locusts, and also use other fairly large insects as food. White-necked storks are most often found in park areas or near water bodies, where they actively destroy fish, frogs and toads, snakes and lizards, and also actively feed on some invertebrate animals.

Reproduction and offspring

Initially, all representatives of the order Angiformes or Storks from the Stork family nested mainly in trees, near human habitation, where they built a very large nest from branches, the weight of which could easily be several centners. Subsequently, such birds began to actively use the roofs of residential buildings or any other buildings to create nests. Currently, storks are increasingly making nests on high-voltage power poles and factory pipes.. The nest created by the stork can serve as a feathered refuge for breeding offspring for several years.

The male stork arrives at the nesting sites several days earlier than the females of this species appear there. Birds arrive in our country at the end of March or at the beginning of April. The male will consider the very first female to appear near the nest as his own, but very often several females fight for the right to give birth to offspring. The male stork takes care of the selected female, making quite frequent and loud clicking sounds with his beak. Similar sounds are made by the male when approaching the nest of a foreign male, after which the owner of the nest uses his beak to attack and strike the enemy.

Depending on the species, the number of eggs laid can vary from two to seven, but most often there are from two to five. Stork eggs are covered with a white shell and are incubated by the pair together. As a rule, males incubate their offspring during the daytime, and females exclusively at night. During the process of changing the brood hen, the birds make a special clacking sound with their beaks and use ritual poses.

Incubation lasts just over a month, after which sighted but completely helpless chicks hatch from the eggs. At the very first time, the hatched stork chicks feed mainly on earthworms, which are actively thrown out of the throats of their parents. Mature chicks are quite capable of independently snatching food directly from the parent’s beak.

This is interesting! The oldest currently known is the stork's nest, which was built by birds of this species on a tower located in eastern Germany and served as a feathered home in the period from 1549 to 1930.

Adult birds vigilantly monitor and control the behavior and health of all offspring, so chicks that are too weak or sick are mercilessly thrown out of the nest. About eight weeks after birth, young storks take flight for the first time under the care of their parents. For almost two, and sometimes three more weeks, these storks are fed and taught to fly well, improving their flying skills by their parents. However, storks acquire complete independence in the last ten days of summer, after which they fly away to warm places for the winter. Adult storks migrate to wintering grounds around September. Birds reach sexual maturity at three years, but prefer to nest later, at about the age of six.

These amazing birds differ from others not only in their beauty, but also in their extraordinary grace. In terms of external parameters, they are similar to a heron, only larger in size.

And the stork’s nest stands out among others in its shape and size. What is so special about it? You can find out where and from what these birds build their nests by reading this article.

Beliefs about the stork

In lovingly called Bela Busel, and in Ukraine - Chernoguz or Leleka. There are no birds in the world with which so many legends, signs and beliefs are associated, and they are all quite sweet and kind.

The very first sign that comes to mind is that the stork is a bird that brings children into families. In the old days, treats were specially laid out for storks on the windows of huts for the sake of bringing children into the house. And cart wheels were installed on the roofs so that storks could make their homes there.

It was believed that a stork's nest on the roof of a house would definitely bring happiness and peace to its owners. And the number of stork chicks also had a certain meaning - the number of chicks, the number of children expected in the family.

Both white and black storks live in nature, the former being the most common.

Stork habitats

The white stork is the national bird. The highest nesting density of this species of birds has been recorded on the territory of this state. Storks usually nest solitarily, but large colonial settlements are also found.

They live in almost all regions of Europe, including the Russian European part. They also exist in Asia (for example, in Uzbekistan).

Storks make their nests in a variety of different and unexpected places, even in some of them. They are not at all afraid of people and settle on trees and roofs of houses in rural settlements.

Many village residents specially prepare places to make it easier for birds to set up nests - they install poles with circles, cut off excess branches on trees. Civilization and people do not frighten storks at all. However, birds still remain wary of humans.

General information about stork nests

This amazingly beautiful and noble bird builds a very large nest (up to 1.5 meters in diameter). The weight of such a home can reach 250 kg. Basically, the stork builds a nest on the roof of a structure built by man, or on broken tree tops near bodies of water (rivers and lakes) or swamps.

As a rule, one nest is used by storks for years. Birds always return to their old home, and the males arrive earlier and guard it until the female returns. But before hatching the chicks, the nest is again put in order and repaired, so its size increases every year. The height is usually 50 centimeters, and the old nest as a result of such reconstructions can reach a height of even 1.5 meters.

In Germany, the oldest stork nest has been used by birds for 381 years.

What is the nest made of?

Storks build nests from twigs and large branches. They line the tray with hay, old grass and straw. Sometimes old rags, wool, paper, etc. are used as lining at the bottom of the nest.

With all this, each nest is built differently. All storks have their own peculiarity in planning the construction of a cozy nest. For example, there is a difference in the construction of nests between white and black storks, about which more detailed information is presented below.

White storks

The most famous of all birds of this species is the white stork, which in Russia nests in the European part of the country. Its wintering places are Africa and India.

The height of the bird is 120 centimeters, its weight is four kilograms. Its distinctive feature is that the stork does not have a voice, but instead knocks with half of its beak, making certain sounds that are understandable to almost all surrounding birds.

White storks are monogamous. In a repaired nest, after returning from wintering, they lay from 1 to 7 eggs, then incubate them alternately (both female and male) for about 34 days.

They prefer to settle along the banks of bodies of water: rivers, lakes, swamps. These birds swim, fly, and move surprisingly easily on land (even run after prey). The white stork reaches speeds of up to 45 km per hour in flight. During sleep, he stands on one leg, periodically changing it.

White stork nest

The white stork's nest (outer side) is built from tree branches, the thickness of which reaches even several centimeters. The inside is lined with thinner and softer branches, and plant stems, turf, earth, manure, straw and hay are often found in its walls. The lower part is lined with a rather thick layer of softer material - moss, hay, leaves, dry grass, wool, etc.

You can also find a wide variety of garbage in the nest - old rags, films, papers, pieces of rope, etc.

In Russia, the oldest nests of white storks (about 35 years old) were discovered in the Tver and Kaluga regions. In Western Europe (in Germany, Poland and Hungary) there are nests that are more than 100 years old.

Black storks

Black storks live in the mountains and forests. They prefer to nest in places inaccessible to people, and lay about 5 eggs. They are also caring parents; both the female and the male take turns incubating the eggs.

The weight of a black stork is approximately three kilograms. The legs, neck and beak are long. The wingspan reaches 2 meters. During the flight, the stork beautifully stretches its legs and neck, smoothly and slowly flaps its wings.

Unlike the white one, the black stork has a voice. Among other things, the black one, in comparison with the white one, is more thorough in designing its nest - it carefully lays out the branches, using clay and earth.

About stork chicks

After the storks have built a nest and the chicks have hatched from the hatched eggs, the real fuss begins. Parents will feed them from morning to evening. They are always busy looking for water and food for their chicks. From birth, storks feed on insects.

The food that the chicks grab on the fly is thrown into their mouths from the beaks of their parents. And the water smoothly flows into the beak of the chicks. All this happens within the first two months. The chicks feed very well and gain weight quite quickly.

Storks have a not very pleasant feature - they get rid of sick and weakened chicks.

Young birds that have become stronger and matured begin to look for food on their own, without their parents. They feed on snakes, insects, lizards, frogs, various rodents, etc.

Today in Ukraine, more and more often you can find a stork’s nest on a power pole, a slightly smaller number of them on trees, and even fewer on water towers. The smallest number of nests is on various buildings.

Stork nests are also found on rocks. For example, in Portugal in 1994, more than 2% of nests were built on them. Old dwellings are also found in ruins, on monuments, towers, on straw stacks, heaps of dry branches and manure. There are known cases of nests being detected even on the booms of construction truck cranes and on the ground.

The height of the nest depends on the height of the support. It varies from 0 (on the ground) to several tens of meters (on pipes and other structures). There is a known case of a nest being located on a hundred-meter tower in Spain. Basically, they are built at an average height of 5 to 20 m.

In many regions of Russia, nests are located on water towers, especially in the Kaluga region (73% of nests).

In Lithuania in 1994-2000, storks built a nest on an old tree in 52 percent of cases.

Stork display behavior

For mated and breeding birds, the center of social activity is the nest, where their various displays can be seen. An interesting fact is that outside the nest, partners tend to ignore each other.

Usually in the spring the male returns to the nest first and protects the home from other storks. A pair forms on the nest. The owner greets strangers approaching storks with a characteristic cracking of his beak, throwing back and lowering his head and spreading his wings. At the same time, he still raises his tail and puffs up the feathers on his neck.

If a female flies to the nest, the demonstrations take on a different character after a while - a welcoming ceremony takes place. At the same time, the male, puffing up his feathers and shaking his head from side to side, greets the couple. When an alien male tries to sit on the nest, the owner takes a threatening pose: he stands motionless on half-bent legs with his wings spread in different directions, his tail raised, and his head and neck stretched forward. The stork has many different displays depending on the situation at hand. Fights may also occur.

A beautiful picture (two storks in a nest) can be seen after a pair has formed. Each of the pair greets the partner flying up to the nest with current demonstrations. Often both birds in the nest show off in a “duet”, fingering each other’s feathers, mostly on the neck and head.

Conclusion

A stork on the roof is the most common sight in rural areas. Many artists and photographers capture them there.

It should be noted that not everything is so smooth in the world of storks. Often the nests are occupied by other tenants - sparrows, wagtails and starlings, who raise their offspring in the beautiful cozy nest of the owners of the roofs and harbingers of a happy and prosperous life.