View source for Biology:Storm's stork

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Ciconia stormi'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T22697685A110066434 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22697685A110066434.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Storm's Stork SMTC.jpg
| image_caption = At San Diego Zoo
| genus = Ciconia
| species = stormi
| range_map = Storm's Stork range.png
| range_map_caption = Extant resident range
| authority = (Blasius, 1896)
}}

'''Storm's stork''' ('''''Ciconia stormi''''') is a medium-sized stork species that occurs primarily in lowland tropical forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand. It is considered to be the rarest of all storks,<ref name="Hancocketal.">Hancock JA, Kuschlan JA, Kahl, MP. 1992. Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. Academic Press.</ref> and is estimated to number less than 500 wild individuals throughout its geographic range.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> The population has long been in decline and the primary cause is widely considered to be deforestation of its native habitat.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

==Taxonomy and systematics==
[[Image: Storm’s_Stork.png |left|thumb| Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Kinabatangen River - Sabah, Borneo - Malaysia]]
[[Image: Storm’s_Stork_2.tif |left|thumb| Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Kinabatangen River -  Sabah, Borneo - Malaysia]]
This stork was first described by Blasius in 1896, and named after the German sea captain Hugo Storm, a collector of zoological specimens in the West Indies.<ref name="Boelens et al.">Boelens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2014. The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury, UK.</ref> In Thailand, it is known as "nok kra su um", which refers to the birds’ fishing procedure by stalking along the bank of a stream in dense forest.<ref name="Nakhasathien">{{cite journal | last1 = Nakhasathien | first1 = S | year = 1987 | title = The discovery of Storm's stork Ciconia stormi in Thailand | journal = Forktail | volume = 3 | pages = 43–49 }}</ref>

This species is very similar and closely related to the [[Biology:Woolly-necked stork|woolly-necked stork]]<ref name="Hancocketal."/>  whose range partially overlaps with that of Storm's stork.<ref name="Holmes, 1977">{{cite journal | last1 = Holmes | first1 = DA | year = 1977 | title = Faunistic notes and further additions to the Sumatran avifauna | journal = Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume = 97 | pages = 68–71 }}</ref> Although Storm's stork has long been considered a separate species,<ref name="Hancocketal."/><ref>Chasen FN. 1935. Hand List of Malaysian Birds. Bulletin of Raffles Museum 11.</ref> it has also been previously treated as a [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] of the woolly-necked stork in the more recent past.<ref name= "Kahl">{{cite journal | last1 = Kahl | first1 = MP | year = 1972 | title = A revision of the Family Ciconiidae (Aves) | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb01736.x | journal = Journal of Zoology | volume = 167 | issue = 4 | pages = 451–461 }}</ref> However, Storm's stork is characterised by a yellowish-orange facial skin patch around the eye that is absent in the woolly-necked stork; and the neck is black and white, whereas it is completely white in the woolly-necked stork.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> However, the specific distinguishing features of Storm's stork have been poorly known in the past, which in the field has frequently led to confusion with the woolly-necked stork.<ref name ="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Holmes, 1977"/>

These two species are also ecologically segregated, with Storm's stork keeping to dense forests and the woolly-necked stork mainly inhabiting open swamp, rice paddy, grassland and dry cultivated areas.<ref name ="Nakhasathien"/> There is evidence of [[Earth:Sympatry|sympatry]] of these two species in Sumatra, where both of these habitats are present.<ref name="Holmes, 1977"/> Further, phylogenetic analyses of the [[Biology:Ciconiidae|Ciconiidae]] based on a portion of cytochrome oxidase b gene have suggested with strong support that Storm's stork and the woolly-necked stork are sister species.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Slikas | first1 = B | year = 1997 | title = Phylogeny of the avian family Ciconiidae (storks) based on cytochrome b sequences and DNA-DNA hybridisation distances | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = 275–300 | doi=10.1006/mpev.1997.0431 | pmid=9417889| doi-access = free }}</ref>

==Description==
This medium-sized stork stands at 75–91&nbsp;cm tall<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> and most of the plumage is black. The undertail coverts and the back of neck are white with a black cap. It has orange facial skin with a yellow ring surrounding the eye, a red [[Medicine:Iris (anatomy)|iris]], and a pinkish-red bill. On some but not all male individuals, the culmen of the bill is slightly concave with a basal knob.<ref name="oiseaux">oiseauxbirds.com. http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-storm-s-stork.html.Accessed 03/06/16</ref>

The legs and feet of adults are dull red, but usually appear paler because they are often covered with the birds’ excreta.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> The bill and other soft body parts darken in the breeding season.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> The sexes are similar in appearance, but as in all storks, the male appears slightly larger. It is also speculated from field observations that the male's black cap, chest and throat are slightly glossier.<ref name="Hancocketal."/>

The [[Biology:Plumage|plumage]] of the chicks at 1–3 days old is completely white, accompanied by a black crown and a black bill with a yellow-orange tip.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> The legs, facial skin and gular pouch are initially light yellow; as the chicks age, the legs become pink, and the facial skin becomes dark grey. The iris is initially brown.

The chicks grow very fast, doubling in new-born size in just under a month.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> By this time, they have also begun to develop black feathers on their wings, throats and bodies. After 30 days, the areas of black feathering have increased, and the black chest and wing coverts are streaked with glossy green and bronze-red.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> After 45 days, the young resemble adults, but they are still smaller with shorter, dark-tipped bills and paler skin colourations, and the blackness of their plumage is slightly duller.<ref name="oiseaux"/> The chicks become fully feathered after 52–57 days.<ref name="Danielsenetal.">{{cite journal | last1 = Danielsen | first1 = F. Kadarisman R | last2 = Skov | first2 = H | last3 = Suwarman | first3 = U | last4 = Verheugt | first4 = WJM | year = 1997 | title = The Storm's stork Ciconia stormi in Indonesia: breeding biology population and conservation | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1997.tb04505.x | journal = Ibis | volume = 139 | pages = 67–75 }}</ref> Wild young have been reported to leave the nest after about 60 days,<ref name= "Nakhasathien"/> and individuals in captivity can usually fly after 90 days.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/>
 
The adult birds are generally silent outside the breeding season; however, during the breeding season they utter vocalisations that have been transcribed as "Kurau".<ref name="Smythies">Smythies BE. 1981. The Birds of Borneo, 3rd Edition. Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lampur.</ref> In captivity, one adult individual was heard making a quiet sibilant whistling.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> Chicks have been heard to make a relatively loud froglike begging call when parents return to the nest with food.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

==Distribution and habitat==
The bulk of the world population of this stork occurs on Borneo; occurring in Kalimantan (Indonesia), Swarak, Sabah (Malaysia) and Brunei.<ref name ="Cutteretal.">{{cite journal | last1 = Cutter | first1 = P | last2 = Boontua | first2 = P | last3 = Sri-Buarod | first3 = K | year = 2007 | title = A recent record of Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi in Thailand | journal = Forktail | volume = 23 | pages = 163–165 }}</ref> It is also found throughout Sumatra,<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> although its range there was previously considered to be restricted to the south east.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> Despite being widespread on both of these islands, the population occurs at low densities and only one or a few individuals have ever been sighted together,<ref name="Hancocketal."/> with the largest number being 12 during an observation in Brunei.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Holmes | first1 = DA | year = 1969 | title = Bird notes from Brunei: December 1967 – September 1968 | journal = Sarawak Museum Journal | volume = 17 | pages = 399–402 }}</ref>  Smaller numbers live in some parts of peninsular Malaysia, where it appears to be particularly rare.<ref name="Luthin">{{cite journal | last1 = Luthin | first1 = CS | year = 1987 | title = Status of and conservation priorities for the world's stork species | journal = Colonial Waterbirds | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | pages = 181–202 | doi=10.2307/1521258| jstor = 1521258 }}</ref> An even smaller minority lives in the extreme south of Thailand,<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> but this stork very unlikely occurs elsewhere in Thailand due to the near absence of remaining suitable habitat.<ref name="Cutteretal."/>

In 1986, the first nest of this species ever known to science was discovered in Southern Thailand.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> However, the construction of the Chiew Larn Dam in the same year led to destruction of much of this stork's lowland forest habitat through extensive flooding.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> Following the flooding, Storm's stork was therefore believed to no longer breed there<ref>Round P. 1988. Threatened forest birds of Thailand. ICBP Technical Publication Number 8. Cambridge: International Council for Bird Preservation.</ref> and since then was previously considered extinct in Thailand.<ref>BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: The Birdlife International Red Data Book. Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International.</ref> However, this stork was re-sighted in Southern Thailand in 2004 with infrared camera traps;<ref name="Cutteretal."/> but continues to be exceptionally uncommon given that usually only one individual has been sighted at a time despite the high intensity of [[Biology:Camera trap|camera trap]]ping.<ref name="Cutteretal."/> Nevertheless, its persistence in Southern Thailand does suggest the presence of a small breeding population.<ref name="Cutteretal."/>

This stork's habitat is primarily dense lowland riverine forest and peat swamp forest, at altitudes not exceeding 240 metres above sea level.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> The density of large trees in this habitat exceeding 10&nbsp;cm at breast height is estimated to range from 500 to 800 trees per hectare,<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> and typical tree genera include ''[[Biology:Dipterocarpus|Dipterocarpus]]'' and ''[[Biology:Ficus|Ficus]]''.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> The forest undergrowth predominantly comprises rattans, bamboos, shrubs and climbers.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> Because these habitats are largely inaccessible to humans, collecting data on this species is logistically difficult,<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> which may partly explain why little is known about this stork's natural history.

Although Storm's stork accepts both lowland riverine forest and peat swamp forest, it is currently unknown which of these habitats provide optimal living conditions for the species.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> However, peat-swamp forest does appear to be an underestimated, ecologically important habitat for this stork across much of its range.<ref name="Cheyneetal.">{{cite journal | last1 = Cheyne | first1 = SM | last2 = Husson | first2 = SJ | last3 = Dragiew | first3 = M | last4 = Thompson | first4 = LJ | last5 = Adul | first5 = Jeffers KA | last6 = Limin | first6 = SH | last7 = Smith | first7 = DAE | year = 2014 | title = Kalimantan's tropical peat-swamp forests are important for Storm's stork (Ciconia stormi) conservation | journal = Journal of Indonesian Natural History | volume = 2 | pages = 45–50 }}</ref> In the wake of continued anthropogenic loss of lowland riverine forest, peat-swamp forest possibly provides an important refuge for the species <ref name="Cheyneetal."/> and an extensive area of peat swamp forest occurs in West Kalimantan.<ref name="Roseetal.">{{cite journal | last1 = Rose | first1 = M | last2 = Posa | first2 = C | last3 = Marques | first3 = DA | year = 2012 | title = Peat swamp forest birds of the Tuanan research station, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, with notes on habitat specialists | journal = Forktail | volume = 28 | pages = 29–37 }}</ref> However, this forest habitat is also under threat through conversion to palm oil plantations, logging and forest fires,<ref name="Roseetal."/> so that increased conservation efforts should be directed on protecting peat-swamp forest.<ref name="Roseetal."/>

This species has been shown to be somewhat tolerant of logged forests;<ref name="Lambert">{{cite journal | last1 = Lambert | first1 = FR | year = 1992 | title = The consequences of selective logging for Bornean lowland forest birds | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London | volume = 335 | issue = 1275 | pages = 443–457 | doi=10.1098/rstb.1992.0036| bibcode = 1992RSPTB.335..443L }}</ref> however, these areas’ actual value as a breeding habitat for this species is disputed.<ref name="Lambert"/> Danielsen and Heegaard <ref name="DanielsenandHeegaard">Danielsen F, Heegaard M. 1995. Impact of logging and plantation development on species diversity: a case study from Sumatra. In: Sandbukt Ø. 1995. Management of tropical forests: towards an integrated perspective. Oslo: Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo.</ref> have considered Storm's stork incapable of breeding in logged forests despite apparent short term survival. In any case, current records have been too short to demonstrate long-term value of logged forests to this stork species.<ref name="Berdie">Berdie IJ, 2008. Assessing canopy cover requirements of Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi at multiple scales. Open access thesis. Paper 132.</ref> The acceptance of logged forests by Storm's stork may also entail some caveats; for example, that there must invariably be easy access within logged forest to freshwater margins,<ref name="Berdie"/> and that at least 20 years of forest regeneration should be allowed to elapse before real habitat value is re-established.<ref name="Berdie"/> A local mosaic of primary and logged forest may also explain this species’ apparent persistence in logged forest,<ref name="DanielsenandHeegaard"/> because it may rely on the undisturbed forest patches as a refuge to sustain itself in the logged forest patches.<ref name="Lambert"/>

This stork is often seen soaring at great heights over rivers and forest clearings, and like many other storks utilises thermals to assist it in gliding.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> This behaviour is said to be "contagious"<ref name="Hancocketal."/> because when one individual begins to soar, conspecifics join it in flight; with flocks consisting of up to six individuals.<ref name="Hancocketal."/>
On Borneo, it has also been reported on open, grassy freshwater swamps and paddy fields.<ref name="Smythies"/> It appears to never frequent saline habitats,<ref name="Meijaardetal.">Meijaard E, Dennis R,  Schroor P, Nardiyono, Berdie I, Douglas O, Fuller. 2015. Habitat characteristics of Storm's stork Ciconiia stormi in Indonesian Borneo. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272182067_Habitat_characteristics_of_Storm's_Stork_Ciconia_stormii_in_Indonesian_Borneo. Accessed 30/05/16.</ref> but occasionally uses forested inland areas adjacent to bodies of water subject to tidal movements<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />  and near mangrove swamps.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/>

==Behaviour and ecology==

===Breeding===
Two major breeding records of this species have been made; in southern Thailand in 1986,<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> and in swamp forest in southern Sumatra in 1989.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> However, chicks in the Thailand breeding record were first observed in October <ref name="Nakhasathien"/> and those in Sumatra were first observed in early June.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> The differing recorded times of egg laying in this species therefore does not suggest a strict breeding season.  Collective breeding records of this species are currently scant possibly because nests are difficult to accurately locate in the dense forest habitat.<ref name="Cheyneetal."/>

The nest is usually located 19-30m above ground above riverbanks, often in the forks of trees of ''[[Biology:Dipterocarpus|Dipterocarpus]]'' species.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> At south Sumatra, a Storm's stork nest was studied that lay 8.3m above ground in an 18m-tall ''Rhizosphora mucronata'' tree.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> In captivity, both the male and female have been observed to carry out nest-building activities.<ref name ="Maceetal.">{{cite journal | last1 = Mace | first1 = M | last2 = Ranger | first2 = W | last3 = Lewins | first3 = E | last4 = Atallian | first4 = DM | last5 = Farley | first5 = M | year = 2006 | title = Breeding and hand-rearing Storm's storks Ciconia stormi at the Zoological Society of San Diego | journal = International Zoo Yearbook | volume = 40 | pages = 254–260 | doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.2006.00254.x}}</ref> The nest has an external outer diameter measuring between 30 and 50&nbsp;cm;<ref name="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Danielsenetal."/> with a depth of 10–15&nbsp;cm,<ref name="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Danielsenetal."/> and is typically composed of twigs and sticks mainly belonging to tree species in the genus ''Rhizosphora'',<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> but also from species in the families Loranthaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, and Rubinaceae.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> These sticks measure 15– 60&nbsp;cm in length <ref name="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Danielsenetal."/><ref name="Maceetal."/> and 0.5-1.5&nbsp;cm in diameter.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/><ref name="Maceetal."/> The nest interior is lined with soft material such as grass and down. 2–4&nbsp;cm long leaflets from ''[[Biology:Xylocarpus|Xylocarpus]]'' species have also been identified as nest material,<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> and these plants have been found growing in the area surrounding the nest.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>  The same nest is often used by a pair over consecutive years; whereby both mates add more material to the nest each year.<ref name="oiseaux"/>

Male-female pairs of this species are typically [[Biology:Monogamy in animals|monogamous]].<ref name="oiseaux"/> Both parents attend to the young at the nest, but only one parent at a time is usually present; with the female estimated to spend three times as long alone at the nest as the male.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> In the early stages of the chicks’ life, both parents have been observed to roost at or near the nest during the evening; but within a month only the female continues to roost at or near the nest.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> Contrary to previous assertions,<ref>MacKinnon J. Phillips K. 1993. A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> this species actually appears to breed solitarily and does not nest in colonies.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> However, it is sometimes found to roost communally, and several individuals have been observed roosting in tops of tall swamp trees a few kilometres from the nests.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

Two eggs are usually laid per year,<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> and the [[Biology:Egg incubation|incubation]] period has been estimated at 29 days,<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> with both parents alternately incubating the eggs.<ref name="Maceetal."/> In captivity, the clutch size may range between two and four.<ref name="Maceetal."/> The young are fully fledged 90 days after hatching.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> The only egg of this species to have been measured was an infertile one extracted from a nest containing two hatched chicks in south Sumatra in 1989.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> This egg measured 60.1mm in length and 41.9mm in breadth, and was completely white after cleaning.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> This egg is preserved at the Zoological Museum of Bogor, Indonesia, and is currently the only egg specimen available for this species.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

Pairs of this stork species perform impressive aerial courtship displays in which both partners do flips in flight, with the lower birds presenting its feet to the upper. Both birds also occasionally glide at high altitudes with level wings and dangling legs.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/> At the nest, they perform bill clattering activities that are typical of many species in the [[Biology:Ciconiidae|Ciconiidae]].<ref name="Kahl"/><ref name="oiseaux"/>

In captivity, another courtship display has been observed in which both partners face each other on the ground or on the nest, extend their wings outward from the body, and bow to each other repeatedly. This display continues until the male approaches the female and attempts to copulate with her,<ref name="Maceetal."/> although copulation does not actually follow from most such displays. This display also sometimes continues when breeding is finished and chicks are at the nest.<ref name="Maceetal."/> However, the importance of this display in wild populations is unknown, since both parents have been sighted together at the nest for only 2% of the time from observations.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

===Food and feeding===
Storm's stork feeds primarily on small fish, frogs, aquatic insect larvae, and sometimes earthworms.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> These are also the food items brought by both parents back for their young at the nest; with the fish measuring 5–7&nbsp;cm long and weighing 10-30g, and the worms measuring 10–15&nbsp;cm long.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> The parents regurgitate the food into the bottom of the nest, whereupon it is picked up and swallowed by the chicks.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> During a series of nest observations in southern Sumatra in 1989, adults were found to return to the nest with food for the chicks every 2–4 hours in June,; but in July, food was brought to the nest less often and significantly more frequently in the late afternoons.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> In Sabah, they have also been reported to feed on grasshoppers and possibly crabs.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/> Hence, other food taxa may be similar to those of the woollynecked stork, but more data are required to fully confirm this, .<ref name="Hancocketal."/>

This stork typically forages stealthily with slow, deliberate movements and a retracted neck <ref name="Meijaardetal."/> along muddy banks of rivers and [[Earth:Creek (stream)|creeks]] within dense primary forest;<ref name="Hancocketal."/><ref name="Danielsenetal."/> keeping primarily to the shaded areas.<ref name="Berdie"/> Individuals with chicks usually forage 2–3&nbsp;km from the nest.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> It will also use other freshwater bodies as foraging localities with high densities of fish and freshwater invertebrates.<ref name="Berdie"/> These include small pools, trackside puddles, swamps and oxbow lakes;<ref name="Berdie"/> and the Storm's stork may be able to use these features optimally where they occur in a patchwork arrangement on riparian floodplains.<ref name="Berdie"/> It can also use boggy clearings created by ungulates such as [[Biology:Gaur|gaur]] that trample vegetation to access mineral licks.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/> In contrast, deep, fast-flowing rivers and waterways are avoided by this species due to reduced prey availability and its inability to stand in these waters.<ref name="Berdie"/>

In Sabah, they have been found feeding on open ground that has recently been burnt.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/> They probably catch invertebrates that have been disturbed or killed by the fire.<ref name="Meijaardetal."/>

===Threats and survival===
The primary threat to this species is degradation of its lowland forest habitat through deforestation for logging and conversion to oil palm plantations.<ref name="Hancocketal."/><ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /><ref name="Danielsenetal."/> For example, approximately two thirds of the swamp forests in South Sumatra were logged from 1982 to 1997.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> Kalimantan lost almost 25% of its evergreen forest during 1985-1997 and all of Sumatra almost 30% of its 1985 cover.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> The relative extent of destruction of this species’ habitat may be particularly high because clearance of lowland forests typically occurs first in deforestation schemes due to the relative ease of approach and the presence of high-quality timber.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dinata | first1 = Y | last2 = Nugroho | first2 = A | last3 = Hadir | first3 = IA | last4 = Linkie | first4 = M | year = 2008 | title = Camera trapping rare and threatened avifauna in west-central Sumatra | journal = Bird Conservation International | volume = 18 | pages = 30–37 | doi=10.1017/s0959270908000051| doi-access = free }}</ref> Extensive [[Earth:Habitat destruction|habitat destruction]] has also occurred through flooding of lowland forest following the construction of reservoirs, as epitomised by the Chiew Larn Dam project in Southern Thailand.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> Because this stork is a lowland specialist, high-elevation forest remaining intact after destruction and fragmentation of lowland habitat is unsuitable, so that transmigration to higher altitude forests is unlikely to be a viable escape solution.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/>

Storm's stork is possibly not strongly directly affected by habitat fragmentation through deforestation.<ref name="Berdie"/> It may actually be somewhat tolerant of fragmentation because it could fly great distances in search of new habitat and be relatively unaffected by the open land matrix which it overflies.<ref name="Berdie"/> However, this is probably not a favourable situation for the species, and the exact maximum distances it will travel to reach new habitat are currently unknown.<ref name="Berdie"/> A larger impact of deforestation on the Storm's stork is more likely to be the decrease in freshwater faunal prey abundance and diversity resulting from increased sedimentation, nutrient loads and water temperatures after logging.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Harding | first1 = JS | last2 = Benfield | first2 = EF | last3 = Bolstad | first3 = PV | last4 = Helfman | first4 = GS | last5 = Jones | first5 = EBD | year = 1998 | title = Stream biodiversity: the ghost of land use past | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 95 | issue = 25 | pages = 14843–14847 | doi=10.1073/pnas.95.25.14843| pmc = 24537 | pmid=9843977| bibcode = 1998PNAS...9514843H | doi-access = free }}</ref> This loss of freshwater taxa would in turn decrease food availability for this stork at its foraging sites. Road building through the forests to access logging areas creates similar problems by contributing to soil erosion, thereby also decreasing freshwater prey diversity.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> The large canopy gaps created through logging also lead to drier abiotic conditions in the cleared areas than under dense canopy, which would render these areas unsuitable for food taxa of the Storm's stork such as amphibians and invertebrates that require wet substrates to live on.<ref name="Berdie"/> This is another likely contributor to the decrease in food taxa abundance after forest clearing.

A secondary threat to this species is hunting by humans.<ref name="Hancocketal."/><ref name="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Danielsenetal."/> Hunting of this species by local people for food may have been happening before large-scale human encroachment onto its habitat to exploit the land.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> However, extensive land exploitation increases human activities that attract non-native hunters to these areas, so that hunting of this species through direct persecution has also appeared to increase as a side-effect of the direct impacts of [[Earth:Habitat destruction|habitat destruction]].<ref name="Hancocketal."/> This was probably the case during extensive flooding of lowland forest in Southern Thailand during the Chiew Larn Dam project.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/>
This species is also extremely sensitive to human intrusions. If humans come within sight of the nest, the adult abandons the nest and does not return until 2–3 hours after the intruder departs.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/> Anthropogenic noise sources such as from motorboats and chainsaws may also affect this stork; in response to such noises that penetrate the forest matrix, adult birds have been observed to press their head and body into the nest with only the eyes showing.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

Natural enemies of chicks and nesting adults are believed to include [[Biology:Bird of prey|raptors]] such as crested serpent eagles ''Spilornis cheela'', monkeys and corvids.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> If these organisms approach the nest, the parent spreads its wings over the nestlings to protect them.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> This nest covering display is similar to that observed in the [[Biology:Maguari stork|maguari stork]].<ref name="Kahl"/>

Another minor threat is the capture of individuals for the international zoo trade, which increased markedly in the late 1980s.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> Although captivity of Storm's storks may be a solution to support the global population, these birds may be unsuitable to reintroduce to their natural habitat because they have become too tame.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/> In [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]], the price of this species on bird markets doubled ($300 to $600) in the early 1990s.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> However, there is no evidence that they have international trade value.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

==Relationship to humans==
This stork is sometimes hunted for food, either by native forest dwellers or non-natives who have been attracted to the area by large-scale land exploitation projects.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> Although there is a relatively low human population density in areas of undisturbed forest habitat of this species, these people concentrate on gleaning forest products and [[Biology:Poaching|poaching]] wildlife. During these activities, Storm's storks are occasionally caught for food either directly by people who extract [[Chemistry:Latex|latex]] from the jelutong tree, or in baited traps for the monitor lizard ''Varanus serator''.<ref name="Danielsenetal."/>

Individuals of this species have appeared in many zoological institutions such as in [[Place:Kuala Lumpur|Kuala Lumpur]] in Malaysia and Walsrode in {{wipe|Germany}}.<ref name="Hancocketal."/> However, the only two zoos where this species has successfully bred are Zoo Negara, Malaysia; and San Diego Wild Animal Park, California.<ref name="Maceetal."/>

==Status==
The population of this notably rare species has been thought to be in recent rapid decline, primarily due to clearance of its natural habitat to make way for oil palm plantations and logging activities.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> It has probably never been common, even before extensive [[Earth:Habitat destruction|habitat destruction]] from increased anthropogenic land exploitation.<ref name="Nakhasathien"/><ref name="Luthin"/>

It has been classified as Endangered on the [[Organization:IUCN Red List|IUCN Red List]] since 1994.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> The total population has been estimated to number 400-500 wild individuals.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> Of these individuals, 150 are estimated to live in Malaysia; and an estimated 250 in Indonesia.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> This species is legally protected in Indonesia, Sarawak and Thailand.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> Although such protection has previously not been rigorously enforced,<ref name="Hancocketal."/> this stork has been recorded in numerous protected areas throughout its range, especially in Kalimantan, on Sumatra and in Malaysia.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

This species requires extensive areas of dense lowland forest over which to forage,<ref name="Berdie"/> so that the best solution to protect this species from extinction would be the large-scale establishment of protected areas holding undisturbed lowland forest and riparian features.<ref name="Hancocketal."/>  However, because this stork is very secretive, it has proved difficult to investigate its biology and ecology. Although it is almost certainly negatively affected by deforestation, little continues to be known about the exact extent of its responses to anthropogenic changes in its native habitat.<ref name="Berdie"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="167" heights="125">
File:Storms stork miami metrozoo.jpg|At Zoo Miami
File:Stavenn Ciconia stormii 00.jpg
File:Storm's Stork SMTC2.jpg|At San Diego Zoo
File:Storm's stork close.jpg|alt=Storms stork bird in the wild|Storm's Stork, Kalimantan province of Borneo
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3833&m=0 Storm's Stork ''Ciconia stormi''] - BirdLife International

{{Taxonbar|from=Q535436}}

[[Category:Ciconia|Storm's stork]]

{{Sourceattribution|Storm's stork}}