Busel white
The entire territory of Belarus
Stork family - Ciconiidae
In Belarus - C. c. ciconia (the subspecies inhabits the entire European part of the species' range).
Common breeding migratory and transit migratory species. The territory of Belarus is conventionally divided into 3 regions with different densities of white stork nesting: southern and southwestern regions with high density, central regions with medium density, northern and northeastern regions, where storks are common, and in some places rare.
The appearance of the stork is well known: a long, straight and sharp beak, a long neck and long legs, wide wings. The plumage color is mostly white, only the flight feathers and the back of the back are black. The beak and legs of adult storks are red, but the beak of young storks is dark gray, almost black. The weight of males is 2.9-3.6 kg, females 2.9-3.1 kg. Body length (both sexes) 97-110 cm, wingspan 200-220 cm.
In the last 40 years, the white stork has flown in the second ten days of March - the first ten days of April. The timing of arrival of the white stork shifts by 2–3 days as it moves 1° latitude from the southwest to the northeast of the region. Autumn migration, on the contrary, occurs the same number of days earlier.
Inhabits open spaces mainly in flat areas, often near reservoirs or extensive swamps. Moving at a leisurely pace along a mown meadow or the shore of a reservoir, the stork looks for food. It rests on a nest or on the top of a tree. Capable of soaring flight and can circle in the sky for a long time in rising air currents. This is perhaps the only one of our birds that lacks the ability to make sounds with its vocal apparatus. This bird produces its characteristic “squeaking” due to frequent blows of the upper beak against the lower beak. Thanks to the traditional patronage of the local population, white storks in Belarus are not afraid of humans and since ancient times have nested in populated areas - villages, towns and even small towns. There are especially many stork nests in the villages of Belarusian Polesie, adjacent to open river floodplains - the favorite feeding places of this bird. Among river floodplains or near them, along country roads, on forest edges, you can find nests of white storks outside populated areas. These birds, as a rule, nest in separate pairs, but in the south of Belarus sometimes there are group settlements in which several pairs of storks nest in close proximity.
Males arrive first at the nesting site, females 3–4 days later. Appearing in the spring already in the last ten days of March, storks immediately occupy old nests. They are located, as a rule, in trees, but often there are nests built on the roofs of houses and barns, water towers, and power line supports. Sometimes storks make nests in unusual places - for example, on haystacks, well cranes, and even on the boom of a non-working crane. They often occupy bases for nests specially arranged by people in the form of wooden frames or wheels mounted on trees. Birds usually nest in single pairs; group settlements of 4–10 or more pairs are also known.
The nest is a bulky structure made of twigs and branches mixed with bundles of hay and straw. Over the years, it becomes even more massive, as it has been in use for many years and is constantly being built up. A flat tray, as a rule, is lined with a rather thick layer of soft material, in particular straw, hay, scraps of felt, wool, old rags, scraps of paper and rope, feathers, etc. The height of the nest is 40-115 cm, diameter 70-230 cm; tray depth 8-12 cm, diameter 35-40 cm. Construction of a new nest lasts about 8 days.
A full clutch contains from 2 to 6 (usually 4) eggs (as an exception, a clutch of 7 eggs has been recorded in Europe). Egg weight 100 g, length 73 mm (67-79 mm), width 52 mm (47-53 mm). The shell is white, yellowish when exposed to light. When incubating, it may acquire a grayish tint; granularity is relatively weakly expressed.
The bird begins laying eggs in the last ten days of April or early May. Eggs are laid at intervals of 2–3 days. There is one brood per year. The male and female incubate for 29-30 or 33-34 days. They usually begin incubation after laying the second egg. The chicks stay in the nest for quite a long time, making their first flight no earlier than on the 50th day of life (in the second half of July - early August). Before this, adults regularly bring food to the chicks, and in the first weeks of their life, one of the adult birds is constantly on the nest, guarding the brood and protecting the chicks from the sun in hot weather, and from rain in rainy weather. The chicks stay in the nest for 54–63 days. For approximately 15–17 days after departure, the parents feed the young. At the age of 70 days, young birds become independent.
In the nesting behavior of storks, an interesting, not entirely understood phenomenon is often observed - the throwing out of the nest of one or two eggs or chicks. If the thrown chick is put back into the nest, storks in most cases (but not always!) throw it out again. As a rule, the weakest chick of the brood is discarded. Perhaps this behavior is associated with the difficulty of feeding the entire brood in years that are unfavorable in terms of food.
Not all pairs of storks nest. Birds first begin nesting at the age of three, some at the age of six, and a small number at the age of two.
In August, families of storks form pre-migration aggregations - flocks of 20-40, rarely up to 100 or more adult and young birds, which are found in meadows, fields, forest edges, and human settlements. By the end of August, most of these flocks have already left the territory of Belarus; in September you can see mainly small “belated” groups or single, often sick birds.
The white stork's food range is very wide: frogs, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, lizards and snakes, fish, small rodents, etc. There are known cases of storks eating small birds and even small hares. The quantitative ratios of different food items vary greatly depending on the area and season of the year.
During the 1995–1996 national bird census. (as part of the V International White Stork Census), 11,807 breeding pairs were registered, of which 97% successfully raised chicks.
The number of white storks in Belarus at the end of the twentieth century. was estimated at 10.5–13 thousand pairs. According to the 2004 national census, about 21.5 thousand pairs of white storks (9% of the world population of the species) nested in Belarus, and 5874 nesting pairs in the Brest region. According to the latest national census (2014-2015), the number of white storks in Belarus is estimated at 22–22.5 thousand breeding pairs and already accounts for 10% of the world population.
The maximum recorded age in Europe is 39 years.
Olga Vasilevskaya, Pinsk district (Brest region)
The stork is a family of large birds belonging to the order Anodidae. The stork family includes 6 genera and 19 species. All members of the family are characterized by the presence of a long beak, pointed towards the end, a long neck and long legs. They have no goiter.
A small swimming membrane connects the three front fingers of storks. The hind toe of these birds is poorly developed. Storks are practically mute birds. This is due to the fact that their vocal cords are reduced.
Typically, representatives of the stork family have very wide, deeply dissected wings. Many species of storks make significant migrations every year, and storks in general are considered excellent flyers. These birds correctly use air temperature in order to be able to save energy when flying.
When in flight, storks stretch their necks forward. The most numerous populations of storks are in tropical countries. Very often you can see storks in hot and temperate latitudes.
The most famous member of the stork family is the white stork, whose life expectancy is approximately twenty years. Almost all white storks are migratory birds - for the winter they fly to India or Africa (there are two migration routes).
Storks are found on all continents. True, in North America their distribution is limited to the extreme south. In Australia, storks live only in the northeastern part of the continent. Three species of these birds nest on the territory of the Russian Federation. Only two species of storks nest in the European part of Eurasia. We are talking about a white stork and a black stork. Sometimes, as a rare guest in Europe, you can see representatives of the species of yellow-billed stork and African marabou. As a rule, when choosing a habitat, storks give preference to areas located near water bodies, as well as open spaces.
The white stork is the most famous member of the stork family. The white stork has a white plumage, with the only exception being the black tips of the wings. These birds are endowed with a long thin beak, which is red in color, a long neck, and long legs, which are also characterized by a reddish tint. An interesting fact is that at the moment when the stork’s wings are folded, a deceptive impression may arise that almost the entire bird is black. By the way, it was from this feature that the Ukrainian name for this species of stork came - blackguz. Male and female white storks have almost identical colors to each other. The difference lies in the size of the individuals - female white storks are still slightly smaller than males. The height of these birds varies from one meter to one hundred and twenty-five centimeters, and the wingspan often reaches two meters. The weight of an adult white stork is approximately four kilograms. On average, the lifespan of these birds is twenty years. In appearance, the white stork is very similar to the Far Eastern stork. However, recently the Far Eastern stork has been identified as an independent species.
The distribution area of the white stork is quite wide. It can be found throughout European and Asian territory. The white stork winters in tropical Africa or India. Moreover, the population of storks that inhabited the southern regions of the African continent adheres to a sedentary lifestyle. Some storks living in Western Europe are also sedentary. These are the areas that experience warmer winters. Migrating storks travel for the winter along two routes. Individuals that nest west of the Elbe River use the following route: after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, these birds remain to winter in Africa. This is the area between the tropical rain forests and the Sahara Desert. Representatives of white storks that nest east of the Elbe River fly through Asia Minor and Palestine during their migrations. Their wintering place is the territory of the African continent between South Africa and South Sudan. Some individuals winter in South Arabia (very small numbers of white storks) and Ethiopia (slightly more birds winter here compared to South Arabia). No matter what specific territory we are talking about, white storks always gather in huge flocks during the winter, including thousands of birds. Young representatives of the white stork species often stay in Africa not only in the winter, but also in the summer. Migrations of white storks associated with flights to wintering grounds occur during the day. Moreover, the birds fly at a fairly high altitude and avoid being above sea waters. When migrating, you can often see storks soaring.
White storks migrate in small groups. Sometimes in whole flocks. Storks form these groups (or flocks) immediately before flying to their wintering grounds. This is the time immediately following the breeding and feeding of offspring. Departure begins at the end of summer or the first month of autumn. There are cases when the departure of white storks for various reasons is delayed until October. As noted above, white storks fly at high altitudes during the day. An interesting fact is that the speed of movement of white storks towards the south is two times less than the speed of movement of these birds towards their nesting in the spring. Some individuals sometimes spend the winter directly in their nesting area. This situation is observed, for example, in Denmark.
The diet of white storks includes mainly small vertebrates. As well as various invertebrates. Storks living in European territory will always never refuse vipers, grass snakes, frogs and toads. In addition, the favorite food of white storks are locusts and grasshoppers. The diet of these birds also includes earthworms, mole crickets, chafers, small mammals (mainly hares, gophers, moles), and lizards. Sometimes they eat small fish and very rarely small birds. When searching for food, white storks walk very gracefully and slowly. However, when they see potential prey, they grab it with lightning speed.
Storks use the same nest for several years. Previously, these birds chose trees as nesting sites. Storks used branches to build a huge nest on them. As a rule, their nesting site was in close proximity to human settlements. A little later, these birds began to build their nests on the roofs of various buildings (including houses). Sometimes a person helped the stork in this regard, erecting these buildings especially for them. Recently, individuals of this species have successfully built nests on factory chimneys or high-voltage lines. An interesting fact is that the older the nest, the larger its diameter. In addition, the weight of individual nests reaches several centners. This nest is so huge that it becomes a place of life not only for the storks themselves, but also for a variety of small birds. The latter, for example, may include starlings, sparrows, and wagtails. Quite often, the nest is “passed on by inheritance” - after the death of the parents, the offspring takes possession of it. The oldest nest, which has been used by more than one generation of storks, is the nest built by these birds on one of the German towers (in the eastern part of the country). It served the storks from 1549 to 1930.
Male white storks are the first to arrive at the nesting site. They are only a few days ahead of the females. There are cases when males travel a distance of two hundred kilometers in one day. Storks return to our country at the end of March or beginning of April. An interesting fact is that the male white stork considers as his the female who appears first at the nest; but if shortly after this another female flies to the nest, then both will compete for the right to become the mother. Moreover, the male takes absolutely no part in this fight. The female that has withstood the competition is invited by the male to the nest. At the same time, the male throws his head back and uses his beak to make clicking sounds, and to create greater resonance he retracts his tongue into the larynx. The male makes identical clicking sounds when another male approaches his nest. Only the pose is different. The white stork horizontally draws in its neck and body, while lowering and raising its wings. Sometimes it happens that young storks fly to the nest of an old male. This is explained by the fact that the first ones are simply too lazy to equip their own nest. Fights often occur between the owner of the nest and opponents who do not respond to preliminary threats. When the male’s invitation is accepted, both birds, while in the nest, begin to click their beaks and throw their heads back.
The female white stork lays two to five eggs. Less commonly, their number varies from one to seven. The eggs are white. Both the male and the female take part in the incubation of eggs - usually the roles are distributed as follows: the female incubates at night, and the male incubates during the day. When changing the hen, specific ritual poses always take place. The duration of incubation of eggs is approximately thirty-three days. The newly hatched chicks are helpless, but they are sighted. At first, the chicks' diet consists mainly of earthworms. The parents throw them out of their throats, and the offspring either grab the worms on the fly or collect them in the nest itself. As white stork chicks grow older, they are able to snatch food intended for them directly from the beaks of their parents.
White stork chicks are under the close supervision of adults. Adult birds often throw out all sick and weak chicks from the nest. Only on the fifty-fourth or fifty-fifth day after birth do young storks fly out of the nest. However, this process again occurs under the supervision of parents. Even after takeoff, for another two or two and a half weeks, the chicks are fed by their parents, and the storks improve their flight skills. Storks become completely independent at seventy days of age. An interesting fact is that young storks fly to winter without any guidance from adults. The path that storks take at the end of August is indicated to them by natural instinct. Adults fly away for the winter a little later - in September. Storks become sexually mature at the age of three. Despite this, some individuals begin to nest only six years after birth.
The stork is a bird very revered by folk culture. Various mythopoetic traditions designate storks as deities, shamans, totemic ancestors, demiurges, etc. White storks are considered symbols of life and growth, sky and sun, wind and thunder, freedom and inspiration, heights and prophecy, abundance and fertility.
The black stork is another representative of the stork family. The black stork is included in the Red Book of Russia and Belarus. When flying, it is often in a soaring state. This feature is also observed in other storks. When in flight, black storks also throw their legs back and stretch their necks forward. The diet of black storks consists mainly of fish, invertebrates and small aquatic vertebrates. Thus, water meadows located in close proximity to water bodies, as well as shallow waters, become feeding places for these birds. In addition, during wintering, the diet of black storks diversifies thanks to large insects, a little less often lizards and snakes, as well as small rodents.
The black stork has a black color. The plumage of black storks is mainly black, although it has a copper-red or greenish tint. The ventral side of this bird's body is white, and the throat, beak and head are bright red. In addition, the unfeathered patch on the frenulum and near the eyes of the black stork has a bright red color.
The black stork is slightly smaller in size than the white stork. The length of a black stork's wing is approximately fifty-four centimeters. The average weight of this bird is three kilograms.
Black storks tend to avoid people. The black stork is a very secretive bird. In view of this, when choosing a habitat, storks give preference to old or dense forests and areas near water bodies. Thus, the black stork can be found near swamps, forest lakes and rivers. This species inhabits the forest zone of Eurasia. As for the territory of our country, representatives of this species live in the territory from the Baltic Sea to the Urals, as well as in Southern Siberia up to the Far East (the largest number of black storks nest in Primorye). A separate population of black storks inhabits the south of Russia. These are the forests of the Stavropol Territory, Dagestan, and Chechnya. The wintering place for black storks is South Asia. In addition, black storks can be seen in South Africa - a sedentary population of these birds lives here.
The black stork is a monogamous bird. Able to reproduce only three years after birth. As a rule, the nest is built at a height of ten to twenty meters. These could be rock ledges or tall old trees. A prerequisite is that the nesting sites must be located far from human habitation. The black stork nests once a year. There are cases when the nests of these birds are found high in the mountains. This can be as high as 2200 meters above sea level. When building a nest, black storks use twigs and thick branches of trees. Storks hold them together with clay, turf and earth. By analogy with white storks, representatives of this species serve one nest for many years. The end of March - beginning of April is marked by the arrival of black storks at the nesting site. The male, emitting a hoarse whistle and fluffing up his white undertail, invites the female to his nest; the female lays four to seven eggs. Both parents take part in incubation, which lasts approximately thirty days. Black stork chicks appear unevenly due to the fact that incubation begins with the first egg. The color of the chicks that are born is grayish or white. The base of the beak is orange and the tip of the beak is greenish yellow. For about ten days, the offspring only lies in the nest. Then the chicks begin to sit and can stand on their feet only at the age of thirty-five to forty days. The stay of black stork chicks in the nest ranges from fifty-five to sixty-five days. Storks receive food from their parents four or five times a day.
Black storks do not form colonies. Often the nests of these birds are located at a distance of at least six kilometers from each other. The exception is the population of black storks nesting in the Eastern Transcaucasus. Here the nests are located at a distance of only one kilometer. Sometimes you can even see two residential nests of black storks on the same tree.
The voice of a black stork can be heard extremely rarely. Like white storks, these birds are extremely reluctant to give voice. If this happens, it is usually in flight, when black storks produce a rather loud cry. It can be rendered as "chi-ling" or "che-le". Sometimes black storks talk quietly in the nest; during the mating season, representatives of this species emit a loud hiss; These birds also knock with their beaks very rarely. The chicks have a very unpleasant and rough voice.
Attempts have been made to crossbreed white and black storks. In zoos, it has been observed more than once that a male black stork begins to court a female white stork, but it was never possible to obtain hybrid chicks, which is largely due to significant differences in the mating rituals of representatives of these two species.
The Far Eastern stork is a rare bird. The Far Eastern stork is a species related to the white stork. Currently, the population of this species numbers approximately three thousand individuals. The Far Eastern stork is listed in the Red Book of Russia.
The Far Eastern stork has much in common with the white stork. First of all, we are talking about the color of the plumage. In size, the Far Eastern stork is somewhat larger than the black stork. In addition, the Far Eastern stork is endowed with a more powerful beak; The legs of these birds have a bright red color. The beak color is black. Another difference between the two species of storks is the color of the beaks of the chicks - the white stork chicks are endowed with a black beak, while the Far Eastern stork chicks have a reddish-orange beak.
The Far Eastern stork is found only in Russia. In practice this is true. Indeed, almost the entire distribution area of this species falls on the territory of the Russian Federation. The name speaks for itself - these birds nest in the Far East. To be more precise, these are the territories of Primorye and Amur region. In addition, the Far Eastern stork is found in Mongolia, northeastern China and northern Korea. Far Eastern storks gather in flocks quite early and fly away for the winter (south and southeast China).
Far Eastern storks prefer damp places. These birds settle in close proximity to wet places and bodies of water. Their diet includes aquatic and semi-aquatic animals. These are invertebrates and small vertebrates. Far Eastern storks mainly feed on frogs and small fish. When choosing nesting sites, individuals of this species try to avoid the proximity of human settlements. At the same time, the Far Eastern stork rarely builds nests in remote, inaccessible places.
Far Eastern storks build nests high in trees. An indispensable condition when choosing a nesting site is the presence of bodies of water nearby. These can be swamps, lakes, rivers. In addition to trees, other high-rise buildings can become nesting sites. We are talking, for example, about power lines. The diameter of the nest in Far Eastern storks is approximately two meters, and the height of the nest can vary from three to fourteen meters. One nest (as in the case of other storks) serves individuals of this species for many years. Eggs are laid at the end of April. The number of eggs in a clutch ranges from two to six and depends on various conditions. Helpless chicks are born approximately thirty days after laying eggs. The female and male feed their offspring by regurgitating food into their beaks. Far Eastern storks reach sexual maturity at the age of three to four years.
Appearance and behavior. One of the largest birds in our region, body length up to 100–115 cm, wingspan up to 215 cm, weight up to 4.5 kg. It has a massive body, long legs, a long, somewhat thickened (compared to herons and ibises) neck and a powerful straight and also relatively long beak. The wings are long and wide, the tail is short. In a flying or soaring bird, the flight feathers spread to the sides are clearly visible at the top of the wing, the neck and legs are straightened. Elongated feathers stand out at the bottom of the neck.
Description. Almost entirely white, only the flight feathers are black, forming a wide edging along the rear edge of the wing in a flying bird, and a black rear part of the body, or a “rump”, hiding the tail in a standing bird. The beak and legs of adults are bright red, those of chicks are black, as they grow, they first become brownish, and then, even before the chicks fly from the nest, they begin to turn red from the base to the top. Under the beak and near the eye there are areas of black bare skin, the eyes are dark brown.
In young birds, the black areas of the plumage are not shiny, but of a dull brownish hue, the white plumage also has vague darkish markings (“dirty”), the beak is reddish with a dark top. From a distance or in contrasting lighting, a flying white stork can be confused with a large predator, but it is clearly distinguished by the color of its plumage, as well as its proportions - its long neck, legs and beak. Even at a distance, it differs from herons in the shape of its head and beak, its thickened neck with elongated feathers on its front surface. From cranes - a more massive long beak and not so long legs and neck; a flying stork looks more massive than a flying crane and is colored differently.
Voice. Adult birds are not capable of producing vocal signals other than a quiet hiss; during mating displays, which males stage while standing on a large nest, they throw their heads back and knock their beaks. Chicks in the nest give soft croaking signals.
Distribution, status. The breeding range covers most of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Winters in the Pyrenees, Africa and India. In European Russia, it is distributed in the southern and western regions; the border of its range has gradually shifted eastward in recent decades. Common in places, but generally low in abundance; It rarely forms colonial settlements from several nests. Arrives in March or April, flies away at the end of August, in the southern regions in September or October. Pre-departure flocks, sometimes consisting of dozens of birds, are typical.
Lifestyle. Inhabits open areas with groves, copses, sparse floodplain forests, and gravitates towards bodies of water. In European Russia it can be considered a synanthropic species, since it mainly nests on human buildings - houses, water towers near farms, sometimes on poles and only occasionally on trees with a broken or sawn-down crown, no lower than 3–5 m from the ground. Pairs usually last for several years.
Massive, reusable and clearly visible from afar nests from plant material are built by both partners, renewing and completing them every year, as a result of which old nests can have a height equal to their width, that is, 1 m or a little more. There are 1–5, very rarely 6, large off-white eggs in the clutch. Both partners incubate the clutch, the male most often during the day, and the female at night. Incubation lasts 33–34 days, newborn chicks are blind, covered with thick white down, with dark beaks and brownish-pink legs. At first, parents feed the chicks mainly with earthworms. The chicks remain in the nest for more than two months, after which they wander with their parents for some time, but fly away to wintering grounds before them, at the end of August.
Preys on a variety of small animals from large beetles and grasshoppers to voles in wet or dry meadows, in fields, including those just plowed by tractors, in shallow waters along small rivers and streams in open places, and in swamps. Feeding birds stand in one place for a long time or methodically walk around the territory, sometimes far from the nest.
White stork ( Ciconia ciconia)
There are many stories about the stork in human culture. Legends and beliefs are associated with this bird; poems and songs are written about it. Since ancient times, it has been considered a symbol of family and fidelity. This amazingly graceful bird never ceases to amaze the imagination with its beauty and grace.
The most famous among storks is the white one. This is what we will talk about.
general characteristics
The stork bird has twelve species, the white one being the most common. Its external features:
- a white bird with black edging on its wings;
- graceful elongated neck;
- thin beak;
- long legs red.
The bird has a proud gait. When folding its wings, it gives the impression that it is half black.
Males and females do not differ in color. They can be distinguished by size - females are smaller. The height of the bird reaches 125 cm, the wingspan is 2 meters. The weight of an adult bird is no more than 4 kg. The lifespan of birds in nature is up to 20 years, in captivity it is less. The bird is considered a long-liver.
Habitats
Where do storks live
The white stork lives throughout Europe and Asia. This is quite a large area. In recent years, the range has been shifting towards the east.
For the winter, the white stork flies to Africa or India. Populations living in Africa and Western Europe do not migrate for the winter because winters in these areas are warm.
In wintering areas birds gather in numerous flocks consisting of thousands of individuals. Young birds can stay in Africa for the entire winter. The flight takes place during daylight hours. They fly at a considerable altitude and at the same time soar. For this purpose, aerodynamically comfortable areas are suitable for them. Birds avoid routes over the sea.
Nests
Ornithologists have a special interest not in the habitat of the white stork, but in the choice of a place for its nest. Back in the 19th century, an amazing feature of these birds was noticed - before building a nest, the stork watches people for a long time.
In connection with this feature, a belief was even born that if a stork’s nest appeared in a village, it would bring prosperity and happiness to the residents. Cases have been recorded where nests were found even on the roofs of multi-storey buildings. People, having discovered such a home, are not upset, but, on the contrary, rejoice. Sometimes they even specially prepare sheds so that the bird can live on their roof.
Life in the wild
The white stork is in flight most of the time. Moreover, more often he uses energetically advantageous method of flight - soaring. Having found suitable places for this, the stork can fly for many kilometers without flapping its wings. Birds fly 200-250 km per day.
During the flight, the bird may even take a nap. Scientists made this conclusion from data on the weakening of the pulse and breathing of birds. At the same time, the hearing is sharpened so that the bird can hear in which direction the flock is flying.
Birds fly to the winter in numerous flocks. At this time, they switch to feeding on insects, preferring locusts. In Africa they are called "locust birds".
Scientists use ringing to monitor storks. Recently, satellite surveillance has been used. This method involves equipping birds with transmitters that transmit signals to a satellite. Thanks to this method, scientists study the characteristics of the life of birds, what the stork eats, how it reproduces and other interesting points.
Nutrition
What does a stork eat in nature?
The white stork feeds on small vertebrates and invertebrates. They feast on frogs, vipers, grasshoppers, eat beetles, earthworms, small fish, and lizards. The movements of birds when searching for food are leisurely. But as soon as they notice the prey, they quickly run up to it and grab it. They carry water to their chicks using their beaks.
To search for food, the stork goes around swamps and lowlands. The structure of his body fully allows him to do this. Legs with long toes provide stability on unstable, wet ground. And the elongated beak allows you to get all sorts of goodies from the depths - mollusks, snails, frogs.
They can even pick up dead fish, I don’t mind enjoying it either:
- moles;
- rats;
- small birds.
Of course, it is not so easy for them to catch moving animals.
Winged creatures hunt in shallow waters, they don’t like to go into deep water. They can feed on the ground; they prefer freshly cut grass, where they catch small insects. In Africa, storks gather where people have burned the grass. In such places you can see hundreds of birds. They also fly to fields and collect larvae there.
Storks can wait for prey for a long time. For example, he can hide not far from a rodent's hole and wait for it to stick its nose out. The time of such fading does not exceed several minutes.
In muddy water, the bird hunts “at random”, without seeing its prey. She opens and closes her beak in the water until she catches a tadpole. The bird can catch food on the fly, capturing a dragonfly or other insects. In captivity, birds catch food on the fly, like dogs.
Stork destroys dangerous insects: turtle bug, beetle beetle, beet weevil. He helps farmers eliminate mole crickets, a harmful insect that all farmers know about.
During years of outbreaks of mice and rats, storks actively eat these rodents, providing significant assistance to humans.
One stork requires 700 grams of food per day. When feeding offspring, this volume increases greatly, and adults have to spend the whole day searching for food.
Reproduction
The white stork is a monogamous bird. It creates a pair and a nest for reproduction. Previously, nests were built only in trees near human habitations. The birds built them from branches. Later they began to settle on the roofs of houses. Such a neighborhood does not upset people, but only makes them happy.
In recent years, storks have been building nests on factory chimneys and even on power lines. One nest is built for several years. Over the years, it gains more and more size. It happens that after the death of adults, the nest passes to the offspring.
Storks begin nesting at the age of about six years. This is not surprising, because the bird lives for about 20 years.
Males are the first to arrive at the nesting site.. In Russia it is the beginning of April. First the first female appears, then the second, and a struggle flares up between them for the right to become a mother. Of course, no one wants to remain an old maid and live her whole life alone. After all, only death can separate a pair of storks. The male does not interfere in the struggle of females. He calls the winner to his nest, making special sounds. If another male flies up to the nest, the owner mercilessly drives him away, hitting him with his beak.
The female brings from 2 to 5 eggs, less often from 1 to 7. Both parents hatch them. Usually it is a male during the day and a female at night. The process takes 33 days. Small chicks have vision, but are absolutely helpless.
Raising chicks
Parents feed babies earthworms, giving them from its beak. Chicks catch worms in flight or collect them from the nest. As they grow up, they pick up food from the beaks of adults. Parents watch over their offspring, throwing out the sick and weak from the nest. Chicks can also die due to lack of food.
After 55 days, the chicks begin to take off. Their parents monitor their first attempts, feeding them for another 18 days. Young individuals spend the night in their parents' nests and learn to fly during the day.
After 70 days, the youngsters gain independence and fly away for the winter. Adults fly later - in September.
A white stork, meeting a couple, begins to click its beak loudly. At the same time, the bird throws its head back to create a resonating space, amplifying the sounds. This is how storks communicate.
The bird behaves aggressively towards its relatives. Weak individuals can even be beaten to death.
The number of storks in western regions is rapidly declining. This is due to a decrease in the amount of feed, increased chemicalization of nature, leading to the death of birds and disruption of the reproductive regime. In Russia, the number of birds, on the contrary, is increasing.
There are approximately 150 thousand pairs of white storks around the world, a third of them live in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Interesting legends associated with the bird. The stork has long been considered a protector against satanic forces. There is a legend explaining the origin of the bird. According to her, God, seeing the danger of snakes, decided to destroy them. He collected all the reptiles in a bag and asked the man to throw the bag into the sea or into the mountains. But out of curiosity, the man opened the bag and freed the crawling creatures. As punishment, the Creator turned a man into a stork and forced him to collect snakes throughout his life.
There is also the fairy tale “Calif the Stork”, where a man turned into this beautiful bird.
Due to the fact that for the second year now, storks have been nesting on a concrete power line support near my house, I decided to expand my knowledge about these birds. And I learned so many interesting facts that I decided to present them in a magazine. This mainly concerns the white stork.
So:
Since ancient times, the stork has been considered a sacred bird; in ancient mythology, the chariot of Mercury was harnessed by storks (according to another version - cranes). In the beliefs of the ancient Chinese, it figuratively denoted a happy old age. And in many European traditions, the stork is a symbol of care for elderly parents, since it was believed that adult storks feed old relatives who are not able to obtain food on their own.
In the Christian tradition, the stork symbolizes goodness, light and faith, as it actively destroys snakes, which Christianity considered a symbol of sins and the devil.
There is a widespread legend that the stork brings children and a good harvest. It is for this reason that storks were revered in rural areas, and to this day villages try to protect these birds from all troubles. Since ancient times, peasants have strengthened old cart wheels on their roofs so that the stork could build a nest. If storks, for some reason, left the nesting site on a house, it was believed that this was a punishment for sins and all sorts of misfortunes and misfortunes would befall the inhabitants of the abandoned house.
But on the African continent, where storks mainly winter, they are hunted. 80 percent of the death of these birds is by shooting. Stork meat is used by Africans for food, the head and legs are used in witchcraft rituals, and the feathers are used for decoration.
Residents of the Far East did not lag behind the Africans. This led to the fact that the last Far Eastern stork nesting in Korea was killed in 1971. The only exception in the East was Japan, where hunting storks has always been prohibited.
In enlightened Europe, storks were not always treated favorably either. In the 17th century, the stork was completely destroyed in Italy; Germany and Austria-Hungary were not far behind, where at the beginning of the 20th century bonuses were given out for birds shot.
The worst thing happened to the black stork, the hunting of which was banned only in 1960. Greedy people believed that it was eating them, destroying fish stocks.
The image of a stork was quite widely used in heraldry and symbolism. The stork on the coat of arms denotes vigilance and forethought, as it sleeps on one leg and is always ready to wake up and begin active actions. In the modern world, the stork is one of the unofficial symbols of Belarus. The stork is also used in the symbolism of Germany, and for the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo the stork has become an official symbol.
The stork is a very large bird. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) has a height of 100-125 cm and a wingspan of up to two meters. The weight of large individuals of this species reaches 4 kg.
The population of storks living in temperate climates moves south to Africa during the cold season. This is about 10,000 km. Birds have acquired a number of features for this. The wide, powerful wings of storks are capable of making up to two beats per second, which allows them to reach a speed of 45 km. at one o'clock. They actively use rising air currents to gain altitude and glide. Storks can go into rest mode for 10-15 minutes during the flight. In this state, the bird's heart rate decreases to the same level as during sleep. (The pulse of storks while awake is 270 beats per minute). Thanks to all these devices, storks are able to fly up to 200 km per day.
The stork sleeps standing on one leg. At the same time, the bird periodically, without waking up, completely reflexively changes its tired leg.
The back toe of the stork is not developed, and there is a membrane between the front toes. It helps the bird move through swampy areas and shallow waters with silty bottoms.
The long, strong beak of the stork is perfectly adapted for obtaining food - small fish, amphibians, reptiles and large insects.
The white stork does not make loud sounds, this is caused by underdeveloped vocal cords. Of course, they are quite capable of producing a faint squeak or hiss, but they use a different method for communication. Wanting to attract a female or drive away a rival from the nest, the male white stork makes loud sounds by clicking his beak. Moreover, the position of the body in each of these cases is different, which allows you to create a sound of different tonality. Females and even white stork chicks also use this method of communication, but chicks with soft beaks do not produce loud clicking.
The life expectancy of storks varies greatly according to different sources. On the one hand, many authors claim that storks live up to 20 years, on the other - up to 70 years.
White and black storks are not picky about what they eat. But they also have their own preferences. The most predatory is the white stork, which happily eats small mammals (including gophers and hares), and on occasion catches small birds and destroys nests with chicks. There have been cases where a stork attacked a weasel or even an ermine.
In addition to mammals and birds, the white stork's diet includes amphibians, reptiles and mollusks. The bird of prey even eats poisonous snakes such as the viper. White storks do not disdain insects, especially in spring. At this time, the favorite foods of birds are earthworms, leaf wasp larvae, mole crickets and chafers. The white stork also readily eats locusts. True, most of the locusts are eaten by them during the winter in Africa.
White and black storks fly to nesting sites in late March - early April. Moreover, males are several days ahead of females.
Storks reach mating age by three years. The female differs from the male only in size.
Storks prefer to use the same nest from year to year. The oldest white stork nest is believed to be built in 1549 on one of the towers in East Germany. It was used until 1930.
Returning to the old nest, the male immediately begins to build on and renovate it. Often old nests reach enormous sizes and weigh several hundred kilograms. Not only the storks themselves, but also small birds live in such “apartments”.
The male white stork who has occupied the nest vigilantly guards it from competitors. When another male approaches, he drives away the opponent by loudly clicking his beak, and the sound of the clicking and the position of the male is fundamentally different from the behavior with which the female is called. If the opponent persists, a fight may break out between the birds.
All storks are monogamous, but migratory species change partners. A male arriving at the nest waits for the first female to respond to his call. At the same time, it doesn’t matter whether his last year’s girlfriend is still alive. Often a clash occurs between last year’s late female and the new one who managed to occupy the nest before her, and the male stork does not interfere in the conflict in any way. The winner stays with him.
A stork has about 3-5 eggs in a clutch. Incubation occurs on average for about a month. Their chicks are born helpless, although covered with down. After this, the parents take care of the chicks for about two more months. Moreover, the parents not only feed the chicks, but also give them water, and on a hot day, pour water over them to prevent overheating.
Test flights begin at the age of two months, but for another 15-20 days the children live in the nest and the parents continue to care for their grown chicks. Full independence in migratory stork species occurs at an age of slightly more than 70 days.
Later the chicks live separately from their parents. Their independence reaches the point that juvenile white and Far Eastern storks go to wintering a month earlier than adults. At the age of one or two years, they may not return to nesting sites at all and remain in wintering areas all year round.
It has been observed that white storks often throw weak and sick chicks out of their nests. Moreover, if the fallen chick is put back, history will repeat itself. Most likely, this is how storks fight overconsumption of food and protect healthy chicks from parasitic and infectious diseases.
The migration routes of storks have now been well studied. Storks of Western Europe fly through France, Spain and Gibraltar to Algeria and Morocco and further to wintering places in West Africa, or more precisely, to Senegal and Nigeria. Storks of Eastern Europe - along the western coast of the Black Sea, over the Bosphorus Strait to Turkey and Syria, and further along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the lower reaches of the Nile and through the countries of East Africa until the southern part of the continent. They finally reach the wintering areas by December, evenly distributed throughout the entire territory. The flight pattern is determined genetically. If storks from Eastern Europe are transported to Western Europe, they will still move along the eastern route, although it will be more protracted. But this will only happen if the resettled individuals do not come into contact with local ones. Young birds from another region that join a flock of local storks will follow the routes proposed by their older comrades, and will soon master a new migration route.
Unlike cranes, storks do not form a geometrically regular V-shaped wedge and fly in a relatively free group following the leader. In flight, the bird stretches its neck forward and lowers its beak slightly downward.
Storks have practically no natural enemies. Only large eagles and crocodiles can attack a powerful bird. Therefore, the main danger to the population of storks of various species is humans.
Currently, relative stability in numbers has been achieved only in the white stork. The remaining species are in danger of extinction, some due to their initially small numbers, and some due to the active impact of humans. The black and Far Eastern storks have suffered from human impact.
But even the white stork at the beginning of the 21st century numbered no more than 150,000 nesting pairs. Moreover, now there is a constant reduction in the number of birds nesting in the countries of Western and Central Europe. The main livestock is located in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
In nature, large species of storks lead a solitary lifestyle, forming pairs during nesting. The nests are located at a certain distance from one another and the males, before the start of the mating season, strictly ensure that competitors do not invade their living space.
Storks treat people differently. The white stork tries to settle closer to human habitation, preferring to place its nests on the roofs of village houses or old towers. The black stork, on the contrary, settles away from humans.
When kept at home, storks quickly get used to humans and easily make contact. It is better not to keep storks near small pets (rodents and small birds), because the birds may well try to eat other pets.
Storks behave calmly towards large poultry. Cases were mentioned when a stork living next to a person “grazed” and protected his poultry, not allowing the chickens to scatter around the yard.
Storks are not only beautiful and graceful, they are faithful human assistants, destroying pests of agricultural plants. Certain species of storks, among other things, are sensitive indicators of the environmental situation. It has been noticed that if a stork lives and feeds on some body of water, then the water there is clean. Now it depends only on the goodwill of people whether those times can return when storks lived in every village, delighting those around them with their beauty.
