Stork and snow

The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and a long pointed red beak. Its two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in the warmer parts of Europe (north to Estonia), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan), and southern Africa. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. As White Storks rely on the uplift of airthermals (which form over land but not water) to glide long distances, they avoid the Mediterranean Sea and detour via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west on their migrations between Europe and Africa.

A carnivore, the White Stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, crayfish, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. The female lays one clutch of usually four eggs per year, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days later. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

The White Stork benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared; however, a decline in population began in the 19th Century due to changes in farming methods. Disappearing from several European countries in the early 20th Century, it has been the subject of conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe, and storks are breeding once again in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. Continuing threats to the species include the drainage of wetlands, collisions with overhead power lines, use of persistent pesticides, and illegal hunting on migration routes and wintering grounds. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite. This conspicuous bird has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best known is the story of babies being brought by storks.