View source for Biology:White stork

{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Ciconia ciconia'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22697691A86248677 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697691A86248677.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = White stork (Ciconia ciconia) Białowieza.jpg
| genus = Ciconia
| species = ciconia
| authority = ([[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Ardea ciconia'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
| range_map = WhiteStorkMap.svg
| range_map_caption = Approximate ranges and routes
<div style="text-align: left">
{{Legend2|#35AC35| Breeding range|border=1px solid #aaa;}} <br />
{{Legend2|#5087C3| Winter range|border=1px solid #aaa;}} <br />
{{legend-line|red solid 2px|Migration routes}}
</div>
}}

The '''white stork''' ('''''Ciconia ciconia''''') is a large [[Biology:Bird|bird]] in the [[Biology:Stork|stork]] family, Ciconiidae. Its [[Biology:Plumage|plumage]] is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average {{convert|100|–|115|cm|in|abbr=on}} from beak tip to end of tail, with a {{cvt|155|–|215|cm|in}} wingspan. The two [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]], which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to {{wipe|Finland}}), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance [[Biology:Bird migration|migrant]], wintering in Africa from tropical [[Place:Sub-Saharan Africa|Sub-Saharan Africa]] to as far south as {{wipe|South Africa}}, or on the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]]. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the [[Place:Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean Sea]] and detours via the [[Place:Levant|Levant]] in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.

A [[Biology:Carnivore|carnivore]], the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, 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, and both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one [[Biology:Clutch (eggs)|clutch]] of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34&nbsp;days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64&nbsp;days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20&nbsp;days.

The white stork has been rated as least concern by the [[Organization:International Union for Conservation of Nature|International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN). It benefited from human activities during the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]] as woodland was cleared, but changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw it decline and disappear from parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the white stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite; the plumage is home to chewing lice and feather mites, while the large nests maintain a diverse range of [[Biology:Mesostigmata|mesostigmatic]] mites. This conspicuous species has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best-known is the story of babies being brought by storks.

== Taxonomy and evolution ==
English naturalist Francis Willughby wrote about the white stork in the 17th century, having seen a drawing sent to him by Sir Thomas Browne of Norwich. He named it ''Ciconia alba''. They noted they were occasional vagrants to England, blown there by storms.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willughby |first=Francis |title=The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of Warwick, esq. ... |publisher=A.C. for John Martyn |location=London, United Kingdom |date=1681 |page=286 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41442085}}</ref>{{efn|1=The universally accepted starting point of modern taxonomy for animals is set at 1758, with the publishing of Linnaeus's [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']], although scientists had been coining names in the previous century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Systema Naturae 250 – The Linnaean Ark |first=Andrew |last=Polaszek |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida |date=2010 |isbn=9781420095029 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReWP31_IJSIC&pg=PA34 |page=34}}</ref>}} It was one of the many bird species originally described by [[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']],<ref>{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=Carl |title=Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis |publisher=Laurentii Salvii |location=[[Place:Stockholm|Holmiae]] |volume=I |edition=10th revised |language=la |year=1758 |page=142 |chapter=''Ciconia'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/carolilinnaeisy00gesegoog#page/n151/mode/1up}}</ref> where it was given the binomial name of ''Ardea ciconia''. It was reclassified to and designated the [[Biology:Type species|type species]] of the new [[Biology:Genus|genus]] ''[[Biology:Ciconia|Ciconia]]'' by [[Biography:Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760.<ref name=Brisson1>{{cite book |last=Brisson |first=Mathurin Jacques |author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson |year=1760 |title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés |language=fr, la |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010447 |volume=1 |page=48 |place=Paris |publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche}}</ref><ref name="boles05">{{cite journal |last=Boles |first=Walter E. |year=2005 |title=A review of the Australian fossil storks of the genus ''Ciconia'' (Aves : Ciconiidae), with the description of a new species |journal= Records of the Australian Museum |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=165–78 |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/18014/1440_complete.pdf |doi=10.3853/j.0067-1975.57.2005.1440}}</ref> Both the genus and [[Biology:Specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]], ''cĭcōnia'', are the [[Social:Latin|Latin]] word for "stork".<ref>{{cite book |title=An Elementary Latin Dictionary |last1=Lewis |first1=Charlton Thomas |last2=Kingery |first2=Hugh Macmaster |location=New York |publisher=American Book Company |year=1918 |page=126 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2ncKAAAAIAAJ/page/n132 |isbn=978-0-19-910205-1}}</ref><!-- cites two previous sentences -->
[[File:Ciconia_alba_119.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Skeleton]]
There are two [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]]:

* ''C. c. ciconia'', the [[Biology:Subspecies#Nominate subspecies|nominate subspecies]] described by Linnaeus in 1758, breeds from Europe to northwestern Africa and westernmost Asia and in southern Africa, and winters mainly in Africa south of the Sahara Desert,{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} though some birds winter in India.<ref name="HBIP1">{{cite book |title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan |volume=1 |last1=Ali |first1=Salim |last2=Ripley |first2=Dillon, S. |year=2001 |edition=2nd |type=paperback |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |location=India |isbn= 978-0-19-565934-4 |pages=99–101}}</ref>
* ''C. c. asiatica'', described by Russian naturalist Nikolai Severtzov in 1873, breeds in [[Place:Turkestan|Turkestan]] and winters from Iran to India. It is slightly larger than the nominate subspecies.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}}<ref name="RasmussenBSA2">{{cite book |title=Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide |volume=2 |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Pamela C. |last2=Anderton |first2=John C. |year=2005 |location=Washington, DC; Barcelona |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions |isbn=978-84-87334-66-5 |page=63}}</ref>

The stork family contains six genera in three broad groups: the open-billed and wood storks (''[[Biology:Mycteria|Mycteria]]'' and ''Anastomus''), the giant storks (''[[Biology:Ephippiorhynchus|Ephippiorhynchus]]'', ''[[Biology:Jabiru|Jabiru]]'' and ''[[Biology:Leptoptilos|Leptoptilos]]'') and the "typical" storks (''[[Biology:Ciconia|Ciconia]]''). The typical storks include the white stork and six other extant species,{{sfn|Elliott|1992|p=437}} which are characterised by straight pointed beaks and mainly black and white plumage.<ref name="kahl">{{cite journal |last=Kahl |first=M. Philip |year=1987| title=An overview of the storks of the world | journal=Colonial Waterbirds |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=131–34 |doi=10.2307/1521251 |jstor=1521251}}</ref> Its closest relatives are the larger, black-billed [[Biology:Oriental stork|Oriental stork]] (''Ciconia boyciana'') of [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]], which was formerly classified as a subspecies of the white stork,{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} and the [[Biology:Maguari stork|maguari stork]] (''C.&nbsp;maguari'') of South America. Close evolutionary relationships within ''Ciconia'' are suggested by behavioural similarities and, biochemically, through analysis of both mitochondrial [[Biology:Cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization.<ref name="Slikas1997">{{cite journal |last=Slikas |first=Beth |year=1997 |title=Phylogeny of the avian family Ciconiidae (storks) based on cytochrome ''b'' Sequences and DNA–DNA hybridization 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>

A ''Ciconia'' fossil representing the [[Biology:Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] end of a right [[Biology:Humerus|humerus]] has been recovered from Miocene beds of Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya.<ref name="Dykes2008" /> The 24–6 million year old fossil could have originated from either a white stork or a [[Biology:Black stork|black stork]] (''C.&nbsp;nigra''), which are species of about the same size with very similar bone structures. The [[Earth:Middle Miocene|Middle Miocene]] beds of Maboko Island have yielded further remains.<ref name="Dykes2008">{{cite journal |year=2008 |title=New records of fossil 'waterbirds' from the Miocene of Kenya |journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=3610 |hdl=2246/5906 |last1=Dykes |first1=Gareth J. |last2=Alexander |first2=Cyril Walker|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:White Stork.jpg|thumb|A juvenile feeding on an insect]]
The white stork is a large bird. It has a length of {{convert|100|–|115|cm|in|abbr=on}},{{efn|1=By convention, length is measured from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail on a dead bird (or skin) laid on its back.}}{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=3}} and a standing height of {{convert|100|-|125|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The wingspan is {{convert|155|–|215|cm|in|abbr=on}} and its weight is {{convert|2.3|–|4.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Mead |first1= C. |last2= Ogilvie |first2= M. |year= 2007 |title= The Atlas of Bird Migrations: Tracing the Great Journeys of the World's Birds |location=Cape Town |publisher=Struik |pages=88–89 |isbn=978-1-77007-499-6}}</ref><ref name =Hancock>{{cite book |last1= Hancock|first1=James |last2= Kushan|first2=James A. |title= Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World |publisher= Princeton University Press |year= 1992 |isbn= 978-0-12-322730-0 |chapter=White stork}}</ref> Like all storks, it has long legs, a long neck and a long straight pointed beak.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|p=437}} The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} The [[Biology:Plumage|plumage]] is mainly white with black [[Biology:Flight feather|flight feather]]s and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment [[Chemistry:Melanin|melanin]].<ref name="grande">{{cite journal |last1= Grande |first1= Juan Manuel |last2= Negro |first2= Juan José |last3= María Torres |first3= José | year= 2004| title= The evolution of bird plumage colouration; A role for feather-degrading bacteria? | journal= Ardeola | volume= 51 | issue = 2 | pages= 375–83 |url =http://www.ardeola.org/files/1198.pdf |doi= 10.1007/s00114-008-0462-0|pmid= 18853129 |s2cid= 12283403 }}</ref> The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=335}} The [[Medicine:Iris (anatomy)|irises]] are dull brown or grey, and the peri-[[Biology:Orbit (anatomy)|orbital]] skin is black. The adult has a bright red beak and red legs,{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} the colouration of which is derived from [[Biology:Carotenoid|carotenoid]]s in the diet. In parts of Spain, studies have shown that the pigment is based on [[Chemistry:Astaxanthin|astaxanthin]] obtained from an introduced species of crayfish (''[[Biology:Procambarus clarkii|Procambarus clarkii]]'') and the bright red beak colours show up even in nestlings, in contrast to the duller beaks of young white storks elsewhere.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B |volume= 126 |issue= 3 |year= 2000| pages= 347–52 |title= Astaxanthin is the major carotenoid in tissues of White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'') feeding on introduced Crayfish (''Procambarus clarkii'') |last1= Negro |first1= Juan José |last2= Garrido-Fernandez |first2= Juan |doi= 10.1016/S0305-0491(00)00180-2|pmid=11007176}}</ref>
[[File:Ciconia ciconia - 01.jpg|thumb|left|In flight. White storks fly with their necks outstretched.]]
As with other storks, the wings are long and broad enabling the bird to soar.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|p=438}} In flapping [[Biology:Bird flight|flight]] its wingbeats are slow and regular. It flies with its neck stretched forward and with its long legs extended well beyond the end of its short tail. It walks at a slow and steady pace with its neck upstretched. In contrast, it often hunches its head between its shoulders when resting.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=328}}<!-- cites previous three sentences --> [[Biology:Moulting#Birds|Moulting]] has not been extensively studied, but appears to take place throughout the year, with the primary flight feathers replaced over the breeding season.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=335}}

[[File:Ciconia ciconia -Vogelpark Avifauna, The Netherlands -juvenile-8a.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=Head, neck and upper body of a white stork with a long beak with is reddish at the base fading to black at the tip|An older juvenile at Vogelpark Avifauna, Netherlands. Beaks turn red starting at the base.]]
Upon hatching, the young white stork is partly covered with short, sparse, whitish [[Physics:Down feather|down feather]]s. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and [[Biology:Flight feather|flight feather]]s. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=335}} By the time it [[Biology:Fledge|fledge]]s, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=328}} The bills gain the adults' red colour the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.{{sfn|Van den Bossche|2002|p=11}}<!-- also cites the bit about young bill being orange or red with black tip -->

=== Similar species ===
Within its range the white stork is distinctive when seen on the ground. The winter range of ''C. c. asiatica'' overlaps that of the [[Biology:Asian openbill|Asian openbill]], which has similar plumage but a different bill shape. When seen at a distance in flight, the white stork can be confused with several other species with similar underwing patterns, such as the [[Biology:Yellow-billed stork|yellow-billed stork]], [[Biology:Great white pelican|great white pelican]] and [[Biology:Egyptian vulture|Egyptian vulture]].{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=328}} The yellow-billed stork is identified by its black tail and a longer, slightly curved, yellow beak. The white stork also tends to be larger than the yellow-billed stork.<ref name="SABirds" /> The great white pelican has short legs which do not extend beyond its tail, and it flies with its neck retracted, keeping its head near to its stocky body, giving it a different flight profile.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=228}} Pelicans also behave differently, soaring in orderly, synchronised flocks rather than in disorganised groups of individuals as the white stork does.{{sfn|Svensson|Grant|1999|p=23}} The Egyptian vulture is much smaller, with a long wedge-shaped tail, shorter legs and a small yellow-tinged head on a short neck.{{sfn|Svensson|Grant|1999|p=74}} The common crane, which can also look black and white in strong light, shows longer legs and a longer neck in flight.{{sfn|Svensson|Grant|1999|p=34}}

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Stork 1000798.JPG|left|thumb|A flock foraging in Turkey. White storks avoid areas overgrown with tall grass and shrubs.|alt=Several black and white birds with long red legs and long red beaks walk in a green grassy area.]]

The nominate race of the white stork has a wide although disjunct summer range across Europe, clustered in the [[Place:Iberian Peninsula|Iberian Peninsula]] and North Africa in the west, and much of eastern and central Europe, with 25% of the world's population concentrated in Poland,<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Chernetsov |year= 2006 |title= Sex-related natal dispersal of White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'') in Poland: How far and where to? |journal= The Auk |volume= 123 |issue= 4 |pages= 1103–9 |url= http://www.zin.ru/rybachy/chernetsov-pdf/PDF21a.pdf |doi= 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[1103:SNDOWS]2.0.CO;2 |first1= Nikita |last2= Chromik |first2= Wiesław |last3= Dolata |first3= Pawel T. |last4= Profus |first4= Piotr |last5= Tryjanowski |first5= Piotr |s2cid= 84227358 |display-authors= 4 |via= The Russian Academy of Sciences Zoological Institute: Biological Station Rybachy}}</ref> as well as parts of [[Place:Western Asia|western Asia]]. The ''asiatica'' population of about 1450 birds is restricted to a region in central Asia between the Aral Sea and [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]] in western China.{{sfn|Van den Bossche|2002|p=10}}<ref>{{cite journal |volume= 4 |url= https://archive.org/stream/strayfeathersjou41876hume#page/99/mode/1up |year= 1876 |title= A contribution to the ornithology of eastern Turkestan |last1= Scully |first1= John |journal= Stray Feathers |pages= 41–205 |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> The Xinjiang population is believed to have become extinct around 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Ma |first1= Ming |last2= Dai |first2= Cai |year= 2002 |chapter= The Fate of the White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia asiatica'') in Xinjiang, China |title=Abstract Volume. 23rd International Ornithological Congress, Beijing, August 11–17, 2002 |page= 352}}</ref> [[Biology:Bird migration|Migration]] routes extend the range of this species into many parts of Africa and India. Some populations adhere to the eastern migration route, which passes across Israel into eastern and central Africa.<ref name="Berthold">{{cite journal |title= Detection of a new important staging and wintering area of the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' by satellite tracking |last1= Berthold |first1= Peter |last2= Van Den Bossche |first2= Willem |last3= Fiedler |first3= Wolfgang |last4= Kaatz |first4= Christoph |last5= Kaatz |first5= Michael |last6= Leshem |first6= Yossi |last7= Nowak |first7= Eugeniusz |last8= Querner |first8= Ulrich |display-authors= 4 |journal= Ibis |volume= 143 |issue= 4 |pages= 450–5 |year= 2001 |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2001.tb04946.x |url= http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/departments/zoology/members/leshem/documents/19.pdf |via= [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]]|citeseerx= 10.1.1.579.7034 }}<!-- link is to university site of one of the authors --></ref><ref name="shamounbaranes03">{{cite journal |url= http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/The_effect_of_wind.pdf |last1= Shamoun-Baranes |first1= Judy |last2= Baharad |first2= Anat |last3= Alpert |first3= Pinhas |last4= Berthold |first4= Peter |last5= Yom-Tov |first5= Yoram |last6= Dvir |first6= Yoav |last7= Leshem |first7= Yossi |display-authors= 4 |title= The effect of wind, season and latitude on the migration speed of White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'', along the eastern migration route |journal= Journal of Avian Biology |volume= 34 |pages= 97–104 |year= 2003 |doi= 10.1034/j.1600-048X.2003.03079.x |via= [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]]}}<!-- link is to university site of one of the authors --></ref>

In Africa the white stork may spend the winter in Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Gambia, Guinea, Algeria, and Ghana.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021"></ref> A few records of breeding from South Africa have been known since 1933 at Calitzdorp, and about 10 birds have been known to breed since the 1990s around Bredasdorp.<ref name="RSA">{{cite book |pages= 82–3 |title= The Atlas of Southern African Birds, Vol. 1: Non-passerines |last= Allan |first= David G. |year= 1997 |chapter= White Stork |editor-last1= Harrison |editor-first1= J.A. |editor-last2= Allan |editor-first2= D.G. |editor-last3= Underhill |editor-first3= L.G. |editor-last4= Herremans |editor-first4= M. |editor-last5= Tree |editor-first5= A.J. Parker, V |editor-last6= Brown |editor-first6= C.J. |publisher= BirdLife South Africa |isbn= 978-0-620-20729-4 |chapter-url= http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/083.pdf |via= South African Bird Atlas Project 2}}</ref> A small population of white storks winters in India and is thought to derive principally from the ''C.&nbsp;c.&nbsp;asiatica'' population<ref name="RasmussenBSA2" /> as flocks of up to 200 birds have been observed on spring migration in the early 1900s through the Kurram Valley.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Whitehead |first1= Charles Hughes Tempest |year= 1911 |title= On the birds of Kohat and the Kurram Valley. Northern India. Part 3 |pages= 954–80 |volume= 20 |issue= 4 |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30167241}}</ref> However, birds ringed in Germany have been recovered in western (Bikaner) and southern (Tirunelveli) India.<ref name="HBIP1" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Prater |first1= Stanley Henry |year= 1931 |title= The migration of the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume= 35 |issue= 2 |page= 459|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47540483}}</ref> An atypical specimen with red orbital skin, a feature of the Oriental white stork, has been recorded<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Jadeja |first1= Vijayraj |last2= Vyas |first2= Raju |last3= Parasharya |first3= B.M. |year= 1998 |title= Record of ''Ciconia ciconia asiaticus'' from Indian Territory |journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume= 95 |issue= 1 |page= 113|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48604633}}</ref> and further study of the Indian population is required.<ref name="RasmussenBSA2" /> North of the breeding range, it is a passage migrant or [[Biology:Vagrancy|vagrant]] in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden, and west to the Azores and Madeira. Despite their geographical proximity, in Finland the species is rare, while in Estonia there are an estimated 5,000 breeding pairs.<ref name="yle">{{cite news |title=Tammitikka, viitatiainen ja kattohaikara ovat Virossa tuttuja, Suomessa harvinaisuuksia – linturetkeily Suomesta Viroon kasvattaa taas suosiotaan |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12593227 |access-date=4 September 2022 |publisher=Yle |date=4 September 2022 |language=fi}}</ref> In recent years, the range has expanded into western Russia.{{sfn|Snow|Perrins|Gillmor|etal|1998|p=141–143}}<ref name="sixthcensus">{{cite book |last1= Thomsen |first1= Kai-Michael |last2= Hötker |first2= Hermann |year= 2006 |chapter= The Sixth International White Stork Census: 2004–2005 |title= Waterbirds Around the World |editor-last1= Boere |editor-first1= G.C. |editor-last2= Galbraith |editor-first2= C.A. |editor-last3= Stroud |editor-first3=D.A. |publisher= The Stationery Office |place=Edinburgh |pages= 493–5 |chapter-url= http://www.jncc.gov.uk/PDF/pub07_waterbirds_part4.3.18.pdf |url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds |isbn= 978-0-11-497333-9}}</ref>

The white stork's preferred feeding grounds are grassy meadows, farmland and shallow wetlands. It avoids areas overgrown with tall grass and shrubs.<ref name="Johst">{{cite journal |last1= Johst |first1= Karin |last2= Brandl |first2= Rolan |last3= Pfeifer |first3= Robert |year= 2001 |title= Foraging in a patchy and dynamic landscape: Human land use and the White Stork |journal = Ecological Applications | volume= 11 |pages= 60–9 |doi= 10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0060:FIAPAD]2.0.CO;2|issn=1051-0761}}</ref> In the Chernobyl area of northern Ukraine, white stork populations declined after the 1986 nuclear accident there as farmland was [[Earth:Ecological succession|succeeded]] by tall grass and shrubs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Samusenko |first1= Irina |year= 2004 |title= Some aspects of White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' population dynamics in the region of Chernobyl's accident |journal= Bird Census News |volume= 13 |issue= 2000 |pages= 157–60 |url= http://www.ebcc.info/wpimages/other/18-SamusenkaH.pdf |access-date= 2010-12-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110627090520/http://www.ebcc.info/wpimages/other/18-SamusenkaH.pdf |archive-date= 2011-06-27 |url-status= dead }}</ref> In parts of Poland, poor natural foraging grounds have forced birds to seek food at rubbish dumps since 1999.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume= 56 |issue= 1 |pages= 83–7 |doi= 10.1007/s10344-009-0313-0 |title= White Storks, ''Ciconia ciconia'', forage on rubbish dumps in Poland — A novel behaviour in population |last1= Kruszyk |first1= Robert |last2= Ciach |first2= Michał | year= 2010|s2cid= 37147808 |url= https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00535245/file/10344_2009_313_ReferencePDF.pdf }}</ref> White storks have also been reported foraging in rubbish dumps in the Middle East, North Africa and South Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Waterbirds |title= Foraging of White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'' on rubbish dumps on non-breeding grounds |last1= Ciach |first1= Michał |last2= Kruszyk |first2= Robert |volume= 33 |issue= 1 |pages= 101–4 |year= 2010 |doi= 10.1675/063.033.0112|s2cid= 85910168 }}</ref>

The white stork breeds in greater numbers in areas with open grasslands, particularly grassy areas which are wet or periodically flooded, and less in areas with taller vegetation cover such as forest and shrubland.<ref name="Carrascal1993">{{cite journal |last1= Carrascal |first1= Luis María |last2= Bautista |first2= Luis Miguel |last3= Lázaro |first3= Encarnación |year= 1993 |title= Geographical variation in the density of the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' in Spain: Influence of habitat structure and climate |journal= Biological Conservation |volume= 65 |issue= 1 |pages= 83–7 |doi= 10.1016/0006-3207(93)90200-K|bibcode= 1993BCons..65...83C |s2cid= 67831806 }}</ref> They make use of grasslands, wetlands, and farmland on the wintering grounds in Africa.<ref name="RSA" /> White storks were probably aided by human activities during the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]] as woodland was cleared and new pastures and farmland were created, and they were found across much of Europe, breeding as far north as Sweden. The population in Sweden is thought to have established in the 16th century after forests were cut down for agriculture. About 5000 pairs were estimated to breed in the 18th century which declined subsequently. The first accurate census in 1917 found 25 pairs and the last pair failed to breed around 1955.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Cavallin |first1= Berith |year= 1997 | title= Storklandskapet |journal= Skånes Natur |volume= 84 |pages= 1–160 |language= sv}}</ref> A similar pattern was seen in Denmark where the white stork appears to have become established in the 15th century when forests were being replaced by farmland and meadows, followed by a rapid population increase in the next centuries and then a rapid decline due mainly to modern, high-intensity agriculture in the last 200 years.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Thellesen | first=P.V. | year=2020 | title=Ynglebestanden af Hvid Stork i Danmark 1900-2018 med et historisk tilbageblik | journal=Dansk Orn. Foren. Tidsskr. | volume=114 | pages=33–41 }}</ref> The white stork has been a rare visitor to the [[Place:British Isles|British Isles]], with about 20 birds seen in Britain every year, and prior to 2020 there were no records of nesting since a pair nested atop St Giles High Kirk in [[Place:Edinburgh|Edinburgh]], Scotland in 1416.<ref>{{cite book |page= 80 |url= https://archive.org/stream/cu31924005489558#page/n88/mode/1up |title= Early Annals of Ornithology |last= Gurney |first= John Henry |year= 1921 |publisher= H F & G Witherby |location= London |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> In 2020, a pair bred in the United Kingdom for the first time in over 600 years,<ref name="CNN2020">{{cite news |last1=Elassar |first1=Alaa |title=Wild white storks hatched in the UK for the first time in centuries |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/uk/wild-white-storks-hatched-uk-trnd/index.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |publisher=CNN |date=16 May 2020}}</ref> as part of a re-introduction initiative in West Sussex called the White Stork Project.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wild white storks hatch in UK for first time in hundreds of years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/wild-white-storks-hatch-for-first-time-in-hundreds-of-years |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=16 May 2020}}</ref>

A decline in population began in the 19th century due to [[Finance:Industrialisation|industrialisation]] and changes in agricultural methods. White storks no longer nest in many countries, and the current strongholds of the western population are in Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and Poland. In the Iberian Peninsula, populations are concentrated in the southwest, and have also declined due to agricultural practices.<ref name="Carrascal1993" /> A study published in 2005 found that the [[Earth:Podhale|Podhale]] region in the uplands of southern Poland had seen an influx of white storks, which first bred there in 1931 and have nested at progressively higher altitudes since, reaching 890&nbsp;m (3000&nbsp;ft) in 1999. The authors proposed that this was related to [[Earth:Global warming|climate warming]] and the influx of other animals and plants to higher altitudes.<ref name="Tryjanowski2005">{{cite journal |last1= Tryjanowski |first1= Piotr |last2= Sparks |first2= Tim H. |last3= Profus |first3= Piotr |year= 2005 |title= Uphill shifts in the distribution of the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' in southern Poland: The importance of nest quality |journal= Diversity and Distributions |volume= 11 |issue= 3 |pages=219–23 |doi= 10.1111/j.1366-9516.2005.00140.x|bibcode= 2005DivDi..11..219T |s2cid= 86013333 }}</ref><!-- cites both previous --> White storks arriving in Poznań province (Greater Poland Voivodeship) in western Poland in spring to breed did so some 10 days earlier in the last twenty years of the 20th century than at the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ptaszyk |year= 2003 |title= Changes in the timing and pattern of arrival of the White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') in western Poland |journal= Journal für Ornithologie |volume= 144 |issue= 3 |pages= 323–9 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1439-0361.2003.03011.x |doi= 10.1007/BF02465632 |first1= J. |last2= Kosicki |first2= J. |last3= Sparks |first3= T.H. |last4= Tryjanowski |first4=P. |s2cid= 40392092 }}</ref>

=== Migration ===
[[File:Rostocker Pfeilstorch.jpg|thumb|upright|In 1822, the ''Rostocker [[Biology:Pfeilstorch|Pfeilstorch]]'' provided early evidence of long-distance stork migration.]]
[[File:Whitestorkflock.jpg|thumb|A flock in migration over Israel. Migrating white storks use the uplift of air thermals to reduce the effort of long-distance flying.|alt=A blue sky with many tiny silhouettes of distant flying birds]]

Systematic research into migration of the white stork began with {{wipe|Germany}} ornithologist Johannes Thienemann who commenced bird ringing studies in 1906 at the [[Organization:Rossitten Bird Observatory|Rossitten Bird Observatory]], on the Curonian Spit in what was then [[Place:East Prussia|East Prussia]]. Although not many storks passed through Rossitten itself, the observatory coordinated the large-scale ringing of the species throughout Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Between 1906 and the [[Social:World War II|Second World War]] about 100,000, mainly juvenile, white storks were ringed, with over 2,000 long-distance recoveries of birds wearing Rossitten rings reported between 1908 and 1954.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Sproll |first1= Alexandra |last2= Fiedler |first2= Wolfgang |year= 2001 |title= Digging in old data: Migration and causes of death in White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'') according to ringing recovery data of the Vogelwarte Rossitten (Eastern Prussia) before the second World War |journal= Euring Newsletter |volume= 3 |url= http://www.euring.org/about_euring/newsletter3/sproll.htm |publisher= European Union for Bird Ringing |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110722022620/http://www.euring.org/about_euring/newsletter3/sproll.htm |archive-date= 2011-07-22 }}</ref>

==== Routes ====
White storks fly south from their summer breeding grounds in Europe in August and September, heading for Africa.<ref name="Johst" /> There, they spend the winter in savannah from Kenya and Uganda south to the Cape Province of South Africa.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=331}} In these areas, they congregate in large flocks which may exceed a thousand individuals.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=328}} Some diverge westwards into western Sudan and Chad, and may reach Nigeria.<ref name="Berthold" />
In spring, the birds return north; they are recorded from Sudan and Egypt from February to April.<ref name="Reed69">{{cite journal |last1=Reed |year=1969 |title= The migration of the White Stork in Egypt and adjacent areas |journal= The Condor |url= http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v071n02/p0146-p0154.pdf |volume= 71 |issue= 2 |pages= 146–54 |doi= 10.2307/1366076 |first1= C.A. |last2= Lovejoy |first2= T.E. |via= [[Organization:University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico]]: Searchable Ornithological Research Archive|jstor= 1366076}}</ref> They arrive back in Europe around late March and April,<ref name="Johst" /> after an average journey of 49 days. By comparison, the autumn journey is completed in about 26 days. Tailwinds and scarcity of food and water en route (birds fly faster over regions lacking resources) increase average speed.<ref name="shamounbaranes03" />

[[File:2017-03-11 Migratory storks resting in Rahat.jpg|thumb|Eastern route: storks resting in Rahat (spring 2017)]]
To avoid a long sea crossing over the Mediterranean, birds from central Europe either follow an eastern migration route by crossing the Bosphorus in Turkey, traversing the [[Place:Levant|Levant]], then bypassing the Sahara Desert by following the Nile valley southwards, or follow a western route over the Strait of Gibraltar.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1998.tb04539.x |journal= Ibis |volume= 140 |pages= 41–52 |year= 1998 |title= Routes of migrating soaring birds |last1= Leshem |first1= Yossi |last2= Yom-Tov |first2= Yoram |url= http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/departments/zoology/members/leshem/documents/17.pdf |via= [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]]}}</ref> These migration corridors maximise help from the thermals and thus save energy.<ref>{{cite book |last= Alexander |first= R. McNeill |year= 1992 |title= Exploring Biomechanics, Animals in Motion |location= New York |publisher= Scientific American Library |isbn= 978-0-7167-5035-2 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/exploringbiomech00alex}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Flight behaviour of White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'' on their migration over southern Israel |last1= Liechti |first1= Felix |last2= Ehrich |first2= Dorothee |last3= Bruderer |first3= Bruno |year= 1996 |journal= Ardea |volume =84 |pages= 3–13 |url=http://www.avibirds.com/pdf/O/Ooievaar8.pdf}}</ref>
In winter 2013–2014, white storks were observed in southern India's Mudumalai National Park for the first time.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Samson, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ramakrishnan, B. |year=2018 |title=White Stork: Sighting record of ''Ciconia ciconia'' (Linnaeus, 1758) in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Nilgiris, India |journal=Zoo's Print |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=16–18 |url=https://zoosprint.zooreach.org/index.php/zp/article/view/4/4}}</ref>
The eastern route is by far the more important with 530,000 white storks using it annually, making the species the second commonest migrant there (after the European honey buzzard). The flocks of migrating [[Biology:Bird of prey|raptor]]s, white storks and [[Biology:Great white pelican|great white pelican]]s can stretch for 200&nbsp;km (125&nbsp;mi).{{sfn|Newton|2010|pp=74–75}} The eastern route is twice as long as the western, but storks take the same time to reach the wintering grounds by either.{{sfn|Newton|2010|p=144}}

Juvenile white storks set off on their first southward migration in an inherited direction but, if displaced from that bearing by weather conditions, they are unable to compensate, and may end up in a new wintering location. Adults can compensate for strong winds and adjust their direction to finish at their normal winter sites, because they are familiar with the location. For the same reason, all spring migrants, even those from displaced wintering locations, can find their way back to the traditional breeding sites.{{sfn|Newton|2010|p=229}} An experiment with young birds raised in captivity in Kaliningrad and released in the absence of wild storks to show them the way revealed that they appeared to have an instinct to fly south, although the scatter in direction was large.<ref name="Chernetsov2004">{{cite journal |year= 2004 |title=Migratory orientation of first-year White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia''): Inherited information and social interactions |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |volume= 207 |issue= 6 |pages= 937–43 |doi= 10.1242/jeb.00853 |pmid=14766952 |last1=Chernetsov |first1=Nikita |last2=Berthold |first2=Peter |last3= Querner |first3= Ulrich |doi-access= free}}</ref>

==== Energetics ====
[[File:Whitestorkflight.png|thumb|[[Biography:Otto Lilienthal|Otto Lilienthal]] studied the flight of storks in 1889 while designing his glider. Sketches by his brother Gustav Lilienthal.]]
White storks rely on the uplift of air [[Earth:Thermal|thermal]]s to soar and glide the long distances of their annual migrations between Europe and [[Place:Sub-Saharan Africa|Sub-Saharan Africa]]. For many, the shortest route would take them over the [[Place:Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean Sea]]; however, since air thermals do not form over water, they generally detour over land to avoid the trans-Mediterranean flights that would require prolonged energetic wing flapping.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= British Birds |volume= 95 | year= 2002 |pages= 372–6 |title= Satellite-tracked Lesser Spotted Eagle avoids crossing water at the Gulf of Suez |last1= Meyburg |first1= Bernd-U. |last2= Matthes |first2= Joachim |last3= Meyburg |first3= Christiane |url= http://www.dr-meyburg.de/pdfs/a_sp100p/a_sp122.pdf |via= Raptor Research}}<!-- link is to website of author --></ref> It has been estimated that flapping flight metabolises 23 times more body fat than soaring flight per distance travelled.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.2307/3677260 |last1= Spaar |first1= Reto |last2= Bruderer |first2= Bruno |year= 1996 |title= Soaring migration of Steppe Eagles ''Aquila nipalensis'' in southern Israel: Flight behaviour under various wind and thermal conditions |journal= Journal of Avian Biology |volume= 27 |issue= 4 |pages= 289–301 |url= https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v099n02/p0458-p0469.pdf |jstor= 3677260}}</ref> Thus, flocks spiral upwards on rising warm air until they emerge at the top, up to {{Convert|1200|-|1500|m|ft|abbr = on}} above the ground (though one record from Western Sudan observed an altitude of {{Convert|3300|m|ft|abbr = on}}).<ref name="Reed69" />

Long flights over water may occasionally be undertaken. A young white stork ringed at the nest in Denmark subsequently appeared in England, where it spent some days before moving on. It was later seen flying over St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, and arrived in a poor condition in Madeira three days later. That island is 500&nbsp;km (320&nbsp;mi) from Africa, and twice as far from the European mainland.<ref name="Cocker">{{cite book |last1= Cocker |first1= Mark |last2= Mabey |first2= Richard |title = Birds Britannica |year= 2005 |location= London |publisher= Chatto & Windus |isbn= 978-0-7011-6907-7 |page= 58}}</ref> Migration through the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]] may be hampered by the ''khamsin'', winds bringing gusty overcast days unsuitable for flying. In these situations, flocks of white storks sit out the adverse weather on the ground, standing and facing into the wind.<ref name="Reed69" />

== Behaviour ==
[[File:Ciconia ciconia -Tsavo East National Park, Kenya-8.jpg|upright|right|thumb|An adult in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. The lower parts of its legs are a whitish colour due to being covered with its droppings—an example of thermoregulation by urohidrosis.]]
The white stork is a gregarious bird; flocks of thousands of individuals have been recorded on migration routes and at wintering areas in Africa. Non-breeding birds gather in groups of 40 or 50 during the breeding season.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=328}} The smaller dark-plumaged [[Biology:Abdim's stork|Abdim's stork]] is often encountered with white stork flocks in southern Africa.<ref name="SABirdssinc">{{cite book |title= The Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa |publisher= Struik |first1= Ian |last1= Sinclair |first2= Phil |last2= Hockey | first3= Norman |last3= Arlott |year= 2005 |isbn= 978-1-77007-243-5 |location= Cape Town, RSA |page= 34}}</ref> [[Biology:Breeding pair|Breeding pair]]s of white stork may gather in small groups to hunt, and colony nesting has been recorded in some areas.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=332}} However, groups among white stork colonies vary widely in size and the social structure is loosely defined; young breeding storks are often restricted to peripheral nests, while older storks attain higher breeding success while occupying the better quality nests toward the centres of breeding colonies.<ref name="Vergara2006">{{cite journal |last1= Vergara |first1= Pablo |last2= Aguirre |first2= José I. |year= 2006 |title= Age and breeding success related to nest position in a White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' colony |journal= Acta Oecologica |volume= 30 |issue= 3 |pages= 414–8 |doi= 10.1016/j.actao.2006.05.008 |bibcode= 2006AcO....30..414V |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228987920 |via= [[Company:ResearchGate|ResearchGate]]}}</ref> Social structure and group cohesion is maintained by [[Philosophy:Altruism|altruistic]] behaviours such as allopreening. White storks exhibit this behaviour exclusively at the nest site. Standing birds preen the heads of sitting birds, sometimes these are parents grooming juveniles, and sometimes juveniles preen each other.<ref name="Harrison65">{{cite journal |last= Harrison |first= Colin James Oliver |year= 1965 |title= Allopreening as agonistic behaviour |journal= Behaviour |volume= 24 |issue= 3–4 |pages= 161–209 |jstor= 4533105 |doi= 10.1163/156853965X00011}}</ref> Unlike most storks, it never adopts a spread-winged posture, though it is known to droop its wings (holding them away from its body with the primary feathers pointing downwards) when its plumage is wet.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v088n04/p0715-p0722.pdf |journal= The Auk |volume= 88 |issue= 4 |pages= 715–22 |title= Spread-wing postures and their possible functions in Ciconiidae |first= M. Philip |last= Kahl |jstor= 4086376 |year= 1984 |doi= 10.2307/4083833 |via= [[Organization:University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico]]: Searchable Ornithological Research Archive}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
White stork (Ciconia ciconia) in flight carrying twig.jpg|carrying twig to nest
White stork (Ciconia ciconia) in flight with transmitter.jpg|bird with transmitter carrying plastic to nest
White stork (Ciconia ciconia) nest.jpg|on nest in Spain
</gallery>

A white stork's droppings, containing faeces and [[Chemistry:Uric acid|uric acid]], are sometimes directed onto its own legs, making them appear white.<ref name="SABirds">{{cite book |title=Southern African Birds: A Photographic Guide | publisher= Struik |first1= Ian |last1= Sinclair |first2= Ian |last2= Davidson |year= 2006 |isbn= 978-1-77007-244-2 |location= Cape Town, RSA |page= 34}}</ref> The resulting evaporation provides cooling and is termed urohidrosis.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behaviour |page= 575 |publisher= Christopher Helm |location= London |isbn= 978-0-7136-6250-4 |editor-last1=Elphick |editor-first1= Chris |editor-last2= Dunning |editor-first2= John B. Jr |editor-last3= Sibley |editor-first3= David|year= 2001 }}</ref> Birds that have been ringed can sometimes be affected by the accumulation of droppings around the ring leading to constriction and leg trauma.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Schulz, H. |year=1986|title= Thermoregulatorisches beinkoten des Weisstorchs (Cionia ciconia). Analyse des verhaltens und seiner bedeutung fur verluste bei beringten storchen im afrikanischen winterquartier.| journal=Vogelwarte| volume= 34|pages= 107–117}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Calvo |first1=B. |last2=Furness |first2=R.W. |date=1992 |title=A review of the use and the effects of marks and devices on birds |journal=Ringing & Migration |language=en |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=129–151 |doi=10.1080/03078698.1992.9674036 |issn=0307-8698|doi-access=free }}</ref> The white stork has also been noted for tool use by squeezing moss in the beak to drip water into the mouths of its chicks.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://biology.mcgill.ca/faculty/lefebvre/articles/Lefebvre_et_al_2002.pdf |title= Tools and brains in birds |last1= Lefebvre |first1= Louis |last2= Nicolakakis |first2= Nektaria |last3= Boire |first3= Dennis |journal= Behaviour |volume= 139 |year= 2002 |pages= 939–73 |doi= 10.1163/156853902320387918 |issue= 7 |via= McGill University}}<!-- link is to authors university acct --></ref>

=== Communication ===

[[File:Anschütz Vol cigogne étude 1884.png|thumb|Ottomar Anschütz's images of white storks, taken in 1884 - the earliest known photographs of any wild birds<ref name="auto">{{cite book|editor1-last=Cox|editor1-first=Rosamund Kidman|title=Wildlife Photographer of the Year|date=2014|publisher=Firefly Books}}</ref>]]

The adult white stork's main sound is noisy bill-clattering, which has been likened to distant machine gun fire. The bird makes these sounds by rapidly opening and closing its beak so that a knocking sound is made each time its beak closes. The clattering is amplified by its [[Biology:Gular skin|throat pouch]], which acts as a [[Physics:Resonator|resonator]]. Used in a variety of social interactions, bill-clattering generally grows louder the longer it lasts, and takes on distinctive rhythms depending on the situation—for example, slower during copulation and briefer when given as an [[Biology:Alarm signal|alarm call]]. The only vocal sound adult birds generate is a weak barely audible hiss; however, young birds can generate a harsh hiss, various cheeping sounds, and a cat-like mew they use to beg for food. Like the adults, young also clatter their beaks.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=334}} The ''up-down display'' is used for a number of interactions with other members of the species. Here a stork quickly throws its head backwards so that its crown rests on its back before slowly bringing its head and neck forwards again, and this is repeated several times. The display is used as a greeting between birds, post coitus, and also as a threat display. Breeding pairs are [[Biology:Territory (animal)|territorial]] over the summer, and use this display, as well as crouching forward with the tails cocked and wings extended.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=333}}

=== Breeding and lifespan ===
[[File:Ciconia ciconia -Iglesia de San Isidoro, Ciguenas en el campanario, Salamanca, Spain-18June2006.jpg|left|thumb|Nests on a belfry in Spain. White storks often form small nesting colonies.|alt=At least eight tall, black and white birds, in three nests on the roof of a building.]]

The white stork breeds in open farmland areas with access to marshy wetlands, building a large stick nest in trees, on buildings, or on purpose-built man-made platforms.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1= Tryjanowski |editor-first1= Piotr |editor-last2= Sparks |editor-first2= Tim H. |editor-last3= Jerzak |editor-first3= Leszek |title= The White Stork in Poland |year= 2006 |location= Poznań, Poland |publisher= Bogucki Wydaw |isbn= 978-83-60247-35-8 }}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref> Each nest is {{convert|1|–|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} in depth, {{convert|0.8|–|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter, and {{convert|60|–|250|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight.<ref name="AZ-2009" /> Nests are built in loose colonies.<ref name="Vergara2006" /> Not persecuted as it is viewed as a good omen, it often nests close to human habitation; in southern Europe, nests can be seen on churches and other buildings. The nest is typically used year after year especially by older males. The males arrive earlier in the season and choose the nests. Larger nests are associated with greater numbers of young successfully fledged, and appear to be sought after.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Vergara |first1= Pablo |last2= Gordo |first2= O. |last3= Aguirre |first3= José I. |year= 2010 |title=Nest size, nest building behaviour and breeding success in a species with nest reuse: The White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' |journal= Annales Zoologici Fennici |volume= 47 |pages= 184–94 |url= http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anz47-free/anz47-184.pdf |doi= 10.5735/086.047.0303 |issue= 3|s2cid= 13804470 }}</ref> Nest change is often related to a change in the pairing and failure to raise young the previous year, and younger birds are more likely to change nesting sites.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Nest-site fidelity and breeding success in White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' |journal= Ibis |volume= 148 |pages= 672–7 |year= 2006 |last1= Vergara |first1= Pablo |last2= Aguirre |first2= José I. |last3= Fargallo |first3= Juan A. |last4= Dávila |first4= José A. |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00565.x |issue= 4|doi-access= free }}</ref> Although a pair may be found to occupy a nest, partners may change several times during the early stages and breeding activities begin only after a stable pairing is achieved.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Wuczyński |first1= Andrzej |title= The turnover of White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'' on nests during spring migration |journal= Acta Ornithologica |volume= 40 |issue= 1 |pages= 83–5 |year= 2005|doi= 10.3161/068.040.0104|doi-access= free }}</ref>
[[File:Аисты на гнезде (Ciconia ciconia).jpg|thumb|Mating]]
Several bird species often nest within the large nests of the white stork. Regular occupants are [[Biology:House sparrow|house sparrow]]s, tree sparrows, and [[Biology:Common starling|common starling]]s; less common residents include Eurasian kestrels, little owls, [[Biology:European roller|European roller]]s, [[Biology:White wagtail|white wagtail]]s, [[Biology:Black redstart|black redstart]]s, Eurasian jackdaws, and [[Biology:Spanish sparrow|Spanish sparrow]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Life of the White Stork |last= Haverschmidt |first= François|year= 1949 |publisher= E. J. Brill |location= Leiden |oclc= 1576336 |pages= [https://books.google.com/books?id=J-UUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA33 33–4] |via= [[Google Books]]}}</ref> Paired birds greet by engaging in up-down and head-shaking crouch displays, and clattering the beak while throwing back the head.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} Pairs copulate frequently throughout the month before eggs are laid. High-frequency pair copulation is usually associated with [[Philosophy:Sperm competition|sperm competition]] and high frequency of [[Biology:Extra-pair copulation|extra-pair copulation]]. It has been considered that extra-pair copulation rates were low but a 2016 DNA sample study suggests that extra-pair copulation occasionally occurs in white storks.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Frequent copulations despite low sperm competition in White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'') |last1= Tortosa |first1= Francisco S. |last2= Redondo |first2= Tomas |journal= Behaviour |volume= 121 |issue= 3&4 |year= 1992 |pages= 288–315 |jstor= 4535031 |doi= 10.1163/156853992X00408|hdl= 10261/60750 |hdl-access= free }}</ref><ref>Turjeman, Sondra Feldman, et al. "Extra-pair paternity in the socially monogamous white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is fairly common and independent of local density." Scientific reports 6.1 (2016): 1-9.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Turjeman |first1=Sondra Feldman |last2=Centeno-Cuadros |first2=Alejandro |last3=Eggers |first3=Ute |last4=Rotics |first4=Shay |last5=Blas |first5=Julio |last6=Fiedler |first6=Wolfgang |last7=Kaatz |first7=Michael |last8=Jeltsch |first8=Florian |last9=Wikelski |first9=Martin |last10=Nathan |first10=Ran |date=2016-06-22 |title=Extra-pair paternity in the socially monogamous white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is fairly common and independent of local density |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=27976 |doi=10.1038/srep27976 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=4916429 |pmid=27328982|bibcode=2016NatSR...627976T }}</ref> Despite the relatively high extra-pair paternity occurrence compared to other long-lived monogamous birds, white storks form strong pair bonds and high nest fidelity maintained across years.<ref name =Hancock/><ref>Vergara, Pablo, et al. "Nest‐site fidelity and breeding success in White Stork Ciconia ciconia." Ibis 148.4 (2006): 672-677.</ref>

A white stork pair raises a single brood a year. The female typically lays four eggs, though [[Biology:Clutch (eggs)|clutches]] of one to seven have been recorded.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=334}} The eggs are white, but often look dirty or yellowish due to a glutinous covering. They typically measure {{convert|73|x|52|mm|abbr=on|in}},<ref name="Oologia neerlandica" /> and weigh {{convert|96|–|129|g|oz|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=334}} of which about {{convert|11|g|oz|abbr=on}} is shell.<ref name="Oologia neerlandica">{{cite book |title= Oologia Neerlandica : Eggs of Birds Breeding in the Netherlands |volume= II |last= van Pelt Lechner |first= A. A. |year= 1911 |publisher= Nijhof |location= The Hague, Netherlands |page= [https://archive.org/details/oologianeerlandi02pelt/page/n148 118] |url= https://archive.org/details/oologianeerlandi02pelt |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the brood hatches asynchronously, beginning 33 to 34&nbsp;days later. The first hatchling typically has a competitive edge over the others. While stronger chicks are not aggressive towards weaker siblings, as is the case in some species, weak or small chicks are sometimes killed by their parents.<ref name="Zielinski">{{cite journal |last1= Zielinski |first1= Piotr |year= 2002 |title= Brood reduction and parental infanticide&nbsp;– are the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' and the Black Stork ''C. nigra'' exceptional? |journal= Acta Ornithologica |volume= 37 |issue= 2 |pages= 113–9 |doi= 10.3161/068.037.0207 |s2cid= 62888943 |doi-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.2307/3676447 |title= Motives for parental infanticide in White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'' |first1= Francisco S. |last1= Tortosa |last2= Redondo |first2= Tomas |journal= Ornis Scandinavica |volume= 23 |issue= 2 |year= 1992 |pages= 185–9 |jstor= 3676447}}</ref> This behavior occurs in times of food shortage to reduce brood size and hence increase the chance of survival of the remaining nestlings. White stork nestlings do not attack each other, and their parents' feeding method (disgorging large amounts of food at once) means that stronger siblings cannot outcompete weaker ones for food directly, hence parental infanticide is an efficient way of reducing brood size. Despite this, this behavior has not commonly been observed.<ref name="Zielinski" /><!-- cites 3 previous sentences -->
[[File:Cigogne blanche MHNT.jpg|upright|left|thumb|Egg]]
The temperature and weather around the time of hatching in spring is important; cool temperatures and wet weather increase chick mortality and reduce breeding success rates.<ref name="Carrascal1993" /> Somewhat unexpectedly, studies have found that later-hatching chicks which successfully reach adulthood produce more chicks than do their earlier-hatching nestmates.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Evolutionary Ecology Research |year= 2007 |volume= 9 |pages= 355–64 |title= Younger, weaker White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') nestlings become the best breeders |last1= Aguirre |first1= José I. |last2= Vergara |first2= Pablo |url=http://www.ucm.es/data/cont/media/www/pag-33468/2007_EvolEcolRes_9_355.pdf}}</ref> The body weight of the chicks increases rapidly in the first few weeks and reaches a plateau of about {{convert|3.4|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in 45&nbsp;days. The length of the beak increases linearly for about 50&nbsp;days.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Tsachalidis |first1= Efstathios P. |last2= Liordos |first2= Vasilios |last3= Goutner |first3= Vassilis |year= 2005| title= Growth of White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' nestlings |journal= Ardea |volume= 93 | issue= 1 |pages= 133–7 |url= http://users.auth.gr/~vgoutner/pdf/50.pdf |via= Aristotle University of Thessaloniki}}<!-- link is to author's university acct --></ref> Young birds are fed with earthworms and insects, which are regurgitated by the parents onto the floor of the nest. Older chicks reach into the mouths of parents to obtain food.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Mužinic |first1= Jasmina |last2= Rašajski |first2= Javor |year= 1992 |title= On food and feeding habits in the White Stork, ''Ciconia c. ciconia'', in the central Balkans |journal= Ökologie der Vögel (Ecology of Birds) |volume= 14 |pages= 211–23}}</ref> Chicks fledge 58 to 64&nbsp;days after hatching.{{sfn|Van den Bossche|2002|p=8}}

White storks generally begin breeding when about four years old, although the age of first breeding has been recorded as early as two years and as late as seven years.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=335}} The oldest known wild white stork lived for 39 years after being ringed in Switzerland,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/longevity-voous.htm |title= EURING list of longevity records for European birds |publisher= EURING |year= 2010 |access-date= 2 December 2010}}</ref> while captive birds have lived for more than 35 years.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}}

=== Feeding ===
White storks consume a wide variety of animal prey. They prefer to forage in meadows that are within roughly 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) of their nest and sites where the vegetation is shorter so that their prey is more accessible.<ref name="Johst" /> Their diet varies according to season, locality and prey availability. Common food items include insects (primarily beetles, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets), earthworms, reptiles, amphibians, particularly frog species such as the [[Biology:Edible frog|edible frog]] (''Pelophylax'' kl. ''esculentus'') and [[Biology:Common frog|common frog]] (''Rana temporaria'') and small mammals such as voles, moles and shrews. Less commonly, they also eat bird eggs and young birds, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and scorpions. They hunt mainly during the day, swallowing small prey whole, but killing and breaking apart larger prey before swallowing.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=332}} Rubber bands are mistaken for earthworms and consumed, occasionally resulting in fatal blockage of the digestive tract.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Henry |first1= PY |last2= Wey |first2= GR |last3= Balança |first3= G |doi= 10.1675/063.034.0414 |title= Rubber band ingestion by a rubbish dump dweller, the White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') |journal= Waterbirds |volume= 34 |issue= 4 |pages= 504–8 |year= 2011 |s2cid= 84701745 }}</ref>
[[File:Stork picking at rabbit.jpg|thumbnail|White stork picking at a dead young [[Biology:European rabbit|European rabbit]] (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'')]]
Birds returning to Latvia during spring have been shown to locate their prey, moor frogs (''Rana arvalis''), by homing in on the mating calls produced by aggregations of male frogs.<ref>{{cite journal |title= White Storks ''Ciconia ciconia'' eavesdrop on mating calls of Moor Frogs ''Rana arvalis'' |last1= Igaune |first1= Kristine |first2= Indrikis |last2= Krams |last3= Krama |first3= Tatjana |last4= Bobkova |first4= Jadviga |journal= Journal of Avian Biology |year= 2008 |volume= 39 |issue= 2 |pages= 229–32 |doi= 10.1111/j.2008.0908-8857.04180.x |url= http://ecolevol.biology.lv/faili/upload/2008_JAB%20Igaune%20Krama%20Krams.pdf |via= Institute of Systematic Biology: Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution |access-date= 2010-12-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161119/http://ecolevol.biology.lv/faili/upload/2008_JAB%20Igaune%20Krama%20Krams.pdf |archive-date= 2011-07-22 |url-status= dead }}<!-- author is lab director --></ref>

The diet of non-breeding birds is similar to that of breeding birds, but food items are more often taken from dry areas.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Antczak |first1= Marcin |last2= Konwerski |first2= Szymon |last3= Grobelny |first3= Seweryn |last4= Tryjanowski |first4= Piotr |year= 2002 |title= The food composition of immature and non-breeding White Storks in Poland |journal= Waterbirds |volume= 25|issue= 4 |pages= 424–8 |doi= 10.1675/1524-4695(2002)025[0424:TFCOIA]2.0.CO;2|s2cid= 86314392 }}</ref> White storks wintering in western India have been observed to follow [[Biology:Blackbuck|blackbuck]] to capture insects disturbed by them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Parasharya |first1= Bhavbhuti M. |last2= Vyas |first2= Raju |year= 1998| title= Foraging association of White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' with Blackbuck ''Antilope cervicapra''| journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume= 95| issue=1| page=112|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48604632}}</ref> Wintering white storks in India sometimes forage along with the [[Biology:Woolly-necked stork|woolly-necked stork]] (''Ciconia episcopus'').<ref name="Pande">{{cite journal |last1= Pande |first1= Satish |last2= Sant |first2= Niranjan |last3= Bhate |first3= Rohan |last4= Ponkshe |first4= Aditya |last5= Pandit |first5= Pranav |last6= Pawashe |first6= Amit |last7= Joglekar |first7= Charu |display-authors= 4  |year= 2007 |title= Recent records of wintering white ''Ciconia ciconia'' and black ''C. nigra'' storks and flocking behaviour of White-necked Storks ''C. episcopus'' in Maharashtra and Karnataka states, India |journal= Indian Birds |volume= 3 |issue= 1 |pages= 28–32 |issn= 0973-1407 |url= https://archive.org/details/WhiteStorkIndia |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Food piracy has been recorded in India with a rodent captured by a western marsh harrier appropriated by a white stork, while Montagu's harrier is known to harass white storks foraging for voles in some parts of Poland.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Akhtar |first1= S. Asad |last2= Tiwari |first2= J.K. |year= 1993 |title= Food piracy by a White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' (Linn.) |journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume= 90 |issue= 1 |pages= 90–91|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48609339}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Why do Montagu's Harriers disturb foraging sessions of White Storks in South-East Poland |last= Kitowski |first= Ignacy |year= 2007 |url= http://aetos.narod.ru/online/berkut16-1/ethology16-1-1.pdf |volume= 16 |issue= 1 |pages= 110–8 |journal= Berkut |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110811045449/http://aetos.narod.ru/online/berkut16-1/ethology16-1-1.pdf |archive-date= 2011-08-11 }}</ref> White storks can exploit landfill sites for food during the breeding season, migration period and winter.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Arizaga, J. |author2=Resano-Mayor, J. |author3=Villanúa, D. |author4=Alonso, D. |author5=Barbarin, J.M. |author6=Herrero, A. |author7=Lekuona, J.M. |author8=Rodriguez, R. |year=2018| title=Importance of artificial stopover sites through avian migration flyways: a landfill-based assessment with the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' |journal=Ibis| volume=160| pages=542–553 |doi=10.1111/ibi.12566| issue=3}}</ref>

== Parasites and diseases ==
White stork nests are [[Earth:Habitat|habitat]]s for an array of small arthropods, particularly over the warmer months after the birds arrive to breed. Nesting over successive years, the storks bring more material to line their nests and layers of organic material accumulate within them. Not only do their bodies tend to regulate temperatures within the nest, but excrement, food remains and feather and skin fragments provide nourishment for a large and diverse population of free-living [[Biology:Mesostigmata|mesostigmatic]] mites. A survey of twelve nests found 13,352 individuals of 34 species, the most common being ''[[Biology:Macrocheles merdarius|Macrocheles merdarius]]'', ''[[Biology:Macrocheles robustulus|M.&nbsp;robustulus]]'', ''Uroobovella pyriformis'' and ''Trichouropoda orbicularis'', which together represented almost 85% of all the specimens collected. These feed on the eggs and larvae of insects and on [[Biology:Nematode|nematode]]s, which are abundant in the nest litter. These mites are dispersed by [[Biology:Coprophagia|coprophilous]] beetles, often of the family [[Biology:Scarabaeidae|Scarabaeidae]], or on dung brought by the storks during nest construction. Parasitic mites do not occur, perhaps being controlled by the predatory species. The overall effect of the mite population is unclear, the mites may have a role in suppressing harmful organisms (and hence be beneficial), or they may themselves have an adverse effect on nestlings.<ref name="bloszyk2005">{{cite journal |last1= Błoszyk |first1= Jerzy |last2= Gwiazdowicz |first2= Dariusz J. |last3= Bajerlein |first3= Daria |last4= Halliday |first4= Robert Bruce | year=2005 | title= Nests of the White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' (L.) as a habitat for Mesostigmatic Mites (Acari, Mesostigmata) | journal= Acta Parasitologica | volume= 50 | issue = 2 | pages= 171–75 | url = http://www.actaparasitologica.pan.pl/archive/PDF/Bloszyk.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Bajerlein">{{cite journal |last1= Bajerlein |first1= Daria |last2= Błoszyk |first2= Jerzy |last3= Gwiazdowicz |first3= Dariusz J. |last4= Ptaszyk |first4= Jerzy |last5= Halliday |first5= Bruce |display-authors= 4 |year= 2006 |title= Community structure and dispersal of mites (Acari, Mesostigmata) in nests of the White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') |journal= Biologia |volume= 61 |issue= 5 |pages= 525–30 |doi= 10.2478/s11756-006-0086-9 |doi-access= free |bibcode= 2006Biolg..61..525B }}</ref>

The birds themselves host species belonging to more than four genera of feather mites.<ref name="Rothschild">{{cite book |title= Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A Study of Bird Parasites |last1= Rothschild |first1= Miriam |last2= Clay |first2= Theresa |year= 1953 |publisher= Collins |location= London, UK | page = 152 |url=https://archive.org/stream/fleasflukescucko00roth#page/152/mode/1up/ |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> These mites, including ''Freyanopterolichus pelargicus'',<ref name="TrouessartMegnin1885">{{cite journal |url= https://archive.org/stream/bulletindelasoc161unkngoog#page/n248/mode/2up |title= Monographie du genre ''Freyana'' et description des espèces nouvelles du Musée d'Angers |author-link1= Édouard Louis Trouessart |last1=Trouessart |first1= Édouard Louis |author-link2= Jean Pierre Mégnin |last2= Mégnin |first2= Jean Pierre | journal =Bulletin de la Société d'Études Scientifiques d'Angers |year= 1885 |volume= 14 |pages= 29–45 |language= fr |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref name="MuseumCentralAfrica">{{cite web |url= http://www.africamuseum.be/collections/browsecollections/naturalsciences/biology/acari/browse_hosts?orderby=Host&b_start:int=3800&set_language=enAcari |title= Acari Collection & Systematics |publisher= Royal Museum for Central Africa |access-date= 10 March 2012}}</ref> and ''Pelargolichus didactylus''<ref name="MuseumCentralAfrica" /> live on fungi growing on the feathers.<ref name="mites">{{cite web |last1= Schöne |first1= Richard |last2= Schmäschke |first2= Ronald |last3= Sachse |first3= Margit |title= Interesting Facts |work= Federmilben |url= http://www.federmilben.de/en/interestingfacts.html |publisher= Star-Media GmbH |access-date= 22 October 2010 |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180009/http://www.federmilben.de/en/interestingfacts.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> The fungi found on the plumage may feed on the [[Biology:Keratin|keratin]] of the outer feathers or on feather oil.<ref name="fungi">{{cite journal |last= Pugh |first= Geoffrey John Frederick |year= 1972 |title= The contamination of birds' feathers by Fungi |journal= Ibis |volume= 114 |issue= 2 |pages= 172–7 |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1972.tb02602.x }}</ref> Chewing lice such as ''Colpocephalum zebra'' tend to be found on the wings, and ''Neophilopterus incompletus'' elsewhere on the body.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Chewing lice (''Insecta'', ''Phthiraptera'') of the White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'' L.) in Poland |url= http://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle.fullcontentlink:pdfeventlink/$002fj$002fumcsbio.2009.64.issue-2$002fv10067-010-0017-6$002fv10067-010-0017-6.pdf?t:ac=j$002fumcsbio.2009.64.issue-2$002fv10067-010-0017-6$002fv10067-010-0017-6.xml |first1= Sławomira |last1= Fryderyk |first2= Joanna N. |last2= Izdebska |volume= 64 |issue= 2 |journal= Annales UMCS, Biologia |pages= 83–8 |year= 2009 |doi= 10.2478/v10067-010-0017-6 }}</ref>

The white stork also carries several types of internal parasites, including ''[[Biology:Toxoplasma gondii|Toxoplasma gondii]]''<ref>{{cite book |title= Foodborne Parasites |first= Ynes R. |last= Ortega |year= 2006 |location=New York |publisher= Springer |page= 121 |isbn= 978-0-387-30068-9}}</ref> and intestinal parasites of the genus ''[[Biology:Giardia|Giardia]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Giardiasis in a White Stork in The Netherlands |first1= F.F. |last1= Franssen |first2= J. |last2= Hooimeijer |first3= B. |last3= Blankenstein |first4= Dirk J. |last4= Houwers |journal= Journal of Wildlife Diseases |volume= 36 |issue= 4 |pages= 764–6 |year= 2000 |pmid= 11085441 |doi= 10.7589/0090-3558-36.4.764|s2cid= 45894419 |doi-access= free }}</ref> A study of 120 white stork carcasses from Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg in Germany yielded eight species of [[Biology:Trematoda|trematode]] (fluke), four [[Biology:Cestoda|cestode]] (tapeworm) species, and at least three species of [[Biology:Nematoda|nematode]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schuster |first1= Rolf |last2= Schaffer |first2= Thoralf |last3= Shimalov |first3= Vladimir |year= 2002 |title= [The helminth fauna of indigenous White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'')] |journal= Berliner und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift |volume= 115 |pages= 435–9 |pmid= 12481650 |language=de |issue= 11–12}}</ref> One species of fluke, ''Chaunocephalus ferox'', caused lesions in the wall of the small intestine in a number of birds admitted to two rehabilitation centres in central Spain, and was associated with reduced weight. It is a recognised pathogen and cause of morbidity in the [[Biology:Asian openbill|Asian openbill]] (''Anastomus oscitans'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Höfle |year= 2003 |title= ''Chaunocephalus ferox'' in free-living White Storks in central Spain |journal= Avian Diseases |volume= 47 |issue= 2 |pages= 506–12 |doi= 10.1637/0005-2086(2003)047[0506:CFIFWS]2.0.CO;2 |first1= U. |last2= Krone |first2=O. |last3= Blanco |first3= J.M. |last4= Pizarro |first4= M. |pmid= 12887215|s2cid= 32009094 }}</ref> More recently, the thorough study performed by J. Sitko and P. Heneberg in the Czech Republic in 1962–2013 suggested that the central European white storks host 11 helminth species. ''Chaunocephalus ferox'', ''Tylodelphys excavata'' and ''Dictymetra discoidea'' were reported to be the dominant ones. The other species found included ''Cathaemasia hians'', ''Echinochasmus spinulosus'', ''[[Biology:Echinostoma revolutum|Echinostoma revolutum]]'', ''Echinostoma sudanense'', ''Duboisia syriaca'', ''Apharyngostrigea cornu'', ''[[Biology:Capillaria (nematode)|Capillaria]]'' sp. and ''Dictymetra discoidea''. Juvenile white storks were shown to host less species, but the intensity of infection was higher in the juveniles than in the adult storks.<ref name="Sitko & Heneberg 2015">{{Cite journal |last1= Sitko |first1=J. |last2= Heneberg |first2= P. |year= 2015 |title= Composition, structure and pattern of helminth assemblages associated with central European storks (Ciconiidae) |journal= Parasitology International |volume= 64 |issue=2 |pages= 130–4 |doi= 10.1016/j.parint.2014.11.004|pmid=25462710 }}</ref>

West Nile virus (WNV) is mainly a bird infection that is transmitted between birds by [[Biology:Mosquito|mosquito]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Hayes |first1= Edward B. |last2= Komar |first2= Nicholas |last3= Nasci |first3= Roger S. |last4= Montgomery |first4= Susan P. |last5= O'Leary |first5= Daniel R. |last6= Campbell |first6= Grant L. |display-authors= 4 |title= Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of West Nile Virus Disease |journal= Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume= 11 |issue= 8 |pages= 1167–73 |year= 2005 |pmid= 16102302 |doi= 10.3201/eid1108.050289a |pmc= 3320478}}</ref> Migrating birds appear to be important in spread of the virus,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Malkinson |year= 2002 |volume= 267 |pages= 309–22 |pmid= 12082995 |first1=M. |last2= Banet |first2= C. |title= Japanese Encephalitis and West Nile Viruses |chapter= The Role of Birds in the Ecology of West Nile Virus in Europe and Africa |series= Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology |doi= 10.1007/978-3-642-59403-8_15 |isbn= 978-3-642-63966-1}}</ref> the ecology of which remains poorly known.<ref name="Zeller2004">{{cite journal |last1=Zeller |first1= Hervé G. |last2= Schuffenecker |first2= Isabelle |year= 2004 |title= West Nile Virus: An overview of its spread in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin in contrast to its spread in the Americas |journal= European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases |volume= 23 |issue= 3 |pages= 147–56  |doi= 10.1007/s10096-003-1085-1 |pmid= 14986160|s2cid= 24372103 }}</ref> On 26 August 1998, a flock of about 1,200 migrating white storks that had been blown off course on their southward journey landed in Eilat, in southern Israel. The flock was stressed as it had resorted to flapping flight to return to its migratory route, and a number of birds died. A virulent strain of West Nile virus was isolated from the brains of eleven dead juveniles. Other white storks subsequently tested in Israel have shown anti-WNV [[Biology:Antibody|antibodies]].<ref>{{cite journal |title= Introduction of West Nile virus in the Middle East by migrating White Storks |last1= Malkinson |first1= Mertyn |last2= Banet |first2= Caroline |last3= Weisman |first3= Yoram |last4= Pokamunski |first4= Shimon |last5= King |first5= Roni |last6= Drouet |first6= Marie-Thérèse |last7= Deubel |first7= Vincent |display-authors= 4 |journal= Emerging Infectious Diseases |year= 2002 |volume= 8 |issue= 4 |pages= 392–7 |pmc= 2730252 |pmid= 11971773 |doi= 10.3201/eid0804.010217}}</ref> In 2008 three juvenile white storks from a Polish wildlife refuge yielded [[Biology:Serostatus|seropositive]] results indicating exposure to the virus, but the context or existence of the virus in Poland is unclear.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Viral Immunology |volume= 21 |issue= 2 |pages=247–54 |last1= Hubálek |first1= Zdenek |last2= Wegner |first2= Elżbieta |last3= Halouzka |first3= Jiří |last4= Tryjanowski |first4= Piotr |last5= Jerzak |first5= Leszek |last6= Sikutová |first6= Silvie |last7= Rudolf |first7= Ivo |last8= Kruszewicz |first8= Andrzej G. |last9= Jaworski |first9= Zbigniew |last10= Wlodarczyk |first10= Radoslaw |display-authors= 4 |title= Serologic survey of potential vertebrate hosts for West Nile Virus in Poland |year= 2008 |doi= 10.1089/vim.2007.0111|pmid= 18433332 }}</ref>

== Conservation ==
[[File:Europe stork.png|thumb|right|Results of the 2004/05 white stork census in Europe (numbers of breeding pairs)]]The white stork's decline due to industrialisation and agricultural changes (principally the draining of wetlands and conversion of meadows to crops such as maize) began in the 19th century: the last wild individual in Belgium was seen in 1895, in Sweden in 1955, in Switzerland in 1950 and in the Netherlands in 1991. However, the species has since been reintroduced to many regions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berthold |first1= Peter |last2= Fiedler |first2= Wolfgang |last3= Querner |first3= Ulrich |title=White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') migration studies: Basic research devoted to conservation measures |pages= 133–41 |volume= 2 |year= 2000 |journal= Global Environment Research}}</ref> It has been rated as least concern by the IUCN since 1994, after being evaluated as near threatened in 1988.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The white stork is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies.<ref name="AEWA">{{cite web|title=Annex 2: Waterbird Species to Which the Agreement Applies |work=Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) |url=http://www.unep-aewa.org/documents/agreement_text/eng/pdf/aewa_agreement_text_annex2.pdf |publisher=UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat |access-date=9 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728144028/http://www.unep-aewa.org/documents/agreement_text/eng/pdf/aewa_agreement_text_annex2.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011 }}</ref> Parties to the agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies described in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation.<ref name="AEWAintro">{{cite web|title=Introduction |work=African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement |url=http://www.unep-aewa.org/about/introduction.htm |publisher=UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat |access-date=9 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211082252/http://www.unep-aewa.org/about/introduction.htm |archive-date=11 February 2012 }}</ref> Threats include the continued loss of wetlands, collisions with overhead power lines, use of persistent pesticides (such as [[Chemistry:DDT|DDT]]) to combat locusts in Africa, and largely illegal hunting on migration routes and wintering grounds.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}}

[[File:Ciconia ciconia juv small.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Three long-legged, long-billed black and white birds stand on a huge pile of sticks atop an artificial platform on a pole|A man-made nest platform in Poland built as a conservation measure and to prevent storks disrupting electricity supplies through nesting on pylons. Three young white storks are on the top of the nest and two [[Biology:Eurasian tree sparrow|Eurasian tree sparrow]]s are perching on the side of the nest.]]
A large population of white storks breeds in central (Poland, Ukraine and Germany) and southern Europe (Spain and Turkey). In a 2004/05 census, there were 52,500 pairs in {{wipe|Poland}}, 30,000 pairs in {{wipe|Ukraine}}, 20,000 pairs in {{wipe|Belarus}}, 13,000 pairs in Lithuania (the highest known density of this species in the world), 10,700 pairs in Latvia, and 10,200 in {{wipe|Russia}}. There were around 5,500 pairs in Romania, 5,300 in Hungary, and an estimated 4,956 breeding pairs in Bulgaria.<ref name="nabu">{{cite web |title= Preliminary Results of the VI International White Stork Census 2004/05 |url= http://bergenhusen.nabu.de/zensus/zensus2006/worldpopulation.pdf |publisher= Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110812085950/http://bergenhusen.nabu.de/zensus/zensus2006/worldpopulation.pdf |archive-date= 12 August 2011}}</ref>In former [[Place:Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] there are 1,700 in Croatia, 1,400 in Serbia,<ref>{{cite web |title=Bele rode - Društvo za zaštitu i proučavanje ptica Srbije|url=https://pticesrbije.rs/kamera-rode/ |work= pticesrbije.rs |access-date=26 December 2023|language=Serbian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rekordan broj belih roda na "Rodiću": U 52 gnezda parovi sa svojim mladuncima|url=https://www.021.rs/story/Novi-Sad/Vesti/346073/FOTO-Rekordan-broj-belih-roda-na-Rodicu-U-52-gnezda-parovi-sa-svojim-mladuncima.html |work= 021.rs|date=7 July 2023|access-date=26 December 2023|language=Serbian}}</ref> 236 in Slovenia and an estimated 40 breeding pairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref name="nabu"/> In {{wipe|Germany}}, the majority of the total 4,482 pairs were in the eastern region, especially in the states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1296 and 863 pairs in 2008 respectively).<ref>{{cite web |title= National data |url= http://bergenhusen.nabu.de/weissstorch/national/|publisher= Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) |access-date= 14 January 2012}}</ref> Apart from {{wipe|Spain}} and Portugal (33,217 and 7,684 pairs in 2004/05 respectively), populations are generally much less stable. In the eastern Mediterranean region [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] has a sizeable population of 6,195 pairs, and Greece 2,139 pairs. In Western Europe the white stork remains a rare bird despite conservation efforts. In 2004 {{wipe|France}} had only 973 pairs, and the Netherlands 528 pairs.<ref name="nabu" /> In Denmark, the species had consistently bred since the 15th century, peaking at several thousands pairs around 1800. Afterwards it began declining mainly due to habitat loss (especially conversion of wetlands and meadows into modern farming), with only a few tens of breeding pairs in 1974 and none in 2008.<ref name=DOF2022>{{cite web| title=Svag fremgang for storken: Udsigt til otte par storke i Danmark |url=https://www.dof.dk/om-dof/nyheder?nyhed_id=2069 | date=30 May 2022 | publisher=[[Organization:Dansk Ornitologisk Forening|Dansk Ornitologisk Forening]] | access-date=28 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Hvid stork | url=https://www.naturhistoriskmuseum.dk/viden/naturlex/fugle/hvid-stork | publisher=Natural History Museum, Aarhus | access-date=16 June 2022 }}</ref> Since then, it has reestablished itself and the population has slowly started to increase, reaching ten pairs in 2023.<ref>{{cite news| title=Flere danske storkeunger i 2023 | url=https://naturguide.dk/fremgang-for-danske-ynglestorke/ | date=9 July 2023 | publisher=Naturguide | access-date=14 November 2023 }}</ref> In Armenia the population of the white stork slightly increased in the period between 2005 and 2015, and by last data reached 652 pairs.<ref>Aghababyan K. 2011. White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'' L.): Population tendencies in Armenia. // Proceedings of the International Conference "Biological Diversity and Conservation Problems of the Fauna of the Caucasus". September 26–29, Yerevan, Asoghik: 9-13.</ref><ref>Aghababyan K., Kochinyan M., and Stepanyan L. (2013). White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'' L.) in Armenia: population, trend, and relationships to humans. // in Hötker, H. & K.-M. Thomsen (ed): White Stork on the top? - Results of the VIth International White Stork Census 2004/05. NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.), Berlin.</ref><ref>White Stork in Armenia. 2016. Armenian Bird Census Council. Retrieved from http://www.abcc-am.org/white-stork.html</ref>

[[File:Haikara (White stork) (1) Koski Tl. 9.7.2015.jpg|thumb|The first known pair in Finland (2015), representing a northward expansion compared to the species' historical breeding range]]
In the early 1980s, the population had fallen to fewer than nine pairs in the entire upper Rhine River valley, an area closely identified with the white stork for centuries. Conservation efforts successfully increased the population of birds there to 270 pairs (in 2008), largely due to the actions of the Association for the Protection and Reintroduction of Storks in Alsace and Lorraine.<ref>{{cite news|title=French region saves iconic White Storks from brink: population hits 270 pairs after dwindling to nine |first=Molly |last= Moore |page= A10 |date= 22 June 2008 |newspaper= {{wipe|The Washington Post}} |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101774.html}}</ref> The reintroduction of [[Biology:Zoo|zoo]]-reared birds has halted further declines in Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. There were 601 pairs breeding in [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]] and around 700 pairs in the Netherlands in 2008,<ref name="Vogelbescherming">{{cite web |url= http://www.birdlife.org/eu/pdfs/Case_study_Restoring_Dutch_White_Stork_population.pdf |title= Restoring the Dutch White Stork Population: A Charismatic Species Brought Back by Targeted Conservation Work |last= Altenburg |first= Jouke |year= 2010 |work= BirdLife International |publisher= Vogelbescherming Netherlands (BirdLife Netherlands) |access-date= 30 January 2011}}</ref> and few pairs also breed in South Africa, typically recent colonists from within the normal wintering population.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} In Poland, electric poles have been modified with a platform at the top to prevent the white stork's large nest from disrupting the electricity supply, and sometimes nests are moved from an electric pole to a man-made platform.<ref name="AZ-2009">{{cite journal |last1= Tryjanowski |first1= Piotr |last2=Kosicki |first2= Jakub Z. |last3= Kuzniak |first3= Stanisław |last4= Sparks |first4= Tim H. |year= 2009 |title= Long-term changes and breeding success in relation to nesting structures used by the White Stork, ''Ciconia ciconia'' |journal= Annales Zoologici Fennici |volume= 46 |pages= 34–8 |url= http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anz46-free/anz46-034.pdf |doi= 10.5735/086.046.0104|s2cid= 13777240 }}</ref> Introductions of zoo-reared birds in the Netherlands has been followed up by feeding and nest-building programs by volunteers.<ref name="Vogelbescherming" /> Similar reintroduction programs are taking place in Sweden,<ref>{{cite web |title= The Swedish White Stork Reintroduction Program |url= http://www.skof.se/stork/sida_historik_english.shtml |work= Valkommen till Storkprojektet! |date= 17 December 2010 |publisher= Scanian Ornithological Society (SkOF) |access-date= 8 February 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/2012.12.25-100736/http://www.skof.se/stork/sida_historik_english.shtml |archive-date= 25 December 2012 }}</ref> and Switzerland,<ref name="Moritzi">{{cite journal |url= http://www.avibirds.com/pdf/O/Ooievaar9.pdf |title= Time budget, habitat use and breeding success of White Storks (''Ciconia ciconia'') under variable foraging conditions during the breeding season in Switzerland |last1= Moritzi |first1= Martin |last2= Maumary |first2= Lionel |last3= Schmid |first3= David |last4= Steiner |first4= Isabelle |last5= Vallotton |first5= Laurent |last6= Spaar |first6= Reto |last7= Biber |first7= Olivier |display-authors= 4 |year= 2001 |journal= Ardea |volume= 89 |issue= 3 |pages= 457–70}}</ref> where 175 pairs were recorded breeding in 2000.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://www.cefe.cnrs.fr/biom/pdf/Schaub-BioCon-2004.pdf |title= Is the reintroduced White Stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') population in Switzerland self-sustainable? |last1= Schaub |first1= Michael |last2= Pradela |first2= Roger |last3= Lebretona |first3= Jean-Dominique |doi= 10.1016/j.biocon.2003.11.002 |journal= Biological Conservation |volume= 119 |issue= 1 |year= 2004 |pages= 105–14 |bibcode= 2004BCons.119..105S |access-date= 2011-02-08 |archive-date= 2011-07-18 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718164931/http://www.cefe.cnrs.fr/biom/pdf/Schaub-BioCon-2004.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> Long-term viability of the population in Switzerland is unclear as breeding success rates are low, and supplementary feeding does not appear to be of benefit.<ref name="Moritzi" /> However, as of 2017, 470 adults and 757 young ones were recorded in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/reluctant-migrants_switzerland-sees-record-stork-numbers-but-fewer-leave/44060124|title=Switzerland sees record stork numbers|website=SWI swissinfo.ch|date=19 April 2018 }}</ref> Historically, the species' northern breeding limit was at Estonia, but it has moved slowly northwards (possibly due to [[Earth:Global warming|warmer temperatures]]) into [[Place:Karelia|Karelia]] and in 2015 the first ever known breeding happened in {{wipe|Finland}}.<ref name=DOF2022/>

In August 2019, 24 juveniles were released at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, and others at a site near Tunbridge Wells and at the Wintershall Estate, near Godalming, as part of a project to reintroduce the white stork as a breeding species in South East England,<ref name="BG-2019">{{cite web |title=White Storks released in Surrey and Sussex |url=https://www.birdguides.com/news/white-storks-released-in-surrey-and-sussex/ |website=BirdGuides |access-date=19 August 2019 |language=en |date=19 August 2019}}</ref> for the first time since 1416.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Crisp |first1=Wil |title=White storks to breed in Britain for the first time in 600 years |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/07/white-storks-breed-britain-first-time-600-years/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/07/white-storks-breed-britain-first-time-600-years/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The Telegraph |date=7 July 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2020, the program was successful with the birth of five baby storks.<ref name="CNN2020" />

== Cultural associations ==
[[File:Józef Chełmoński - Bociany - 01 (MP 561 MNW).jpg|thumb|300px|left|''Bociany'' (''Storks''), an oil painting of 1900, 150x198 cm by Józef Chełmoński (1849–1914), National Museum in Warsaw]]

Due to its large size, predation on vermin, and nesting behaviour close to human settlements and on rooftops, the white stork has an imposing presence that has influenced human culture and folklore.<ref name="Cocker" /> The Hebrew word for the white stork is ''chasidah'' (חסידה), meaning "merciful" or "kind".<ref name="Margolis72">{{cite journal |title= The stork fable−some psychodynamic considerations |last1= Margolis |first1= Marvin |last2= Parker |first2= Philip |journal= Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association |year= 1972 |doi= 10.1177/000306517202000304 |volume= 20 |issue= 3 |pages= 494–511 |pmid= 4116100|s2cid= 45301787 }}</ref> [[Religion:Greek mythology|Greek]] and Roman mythology portray storks as models of parental devotion. The 3rd century Roman writer Aelian citing the authority of Alexander of Myndus noted in his ''De natura animalium'' (book 3, chapter 23) that aged storks flew away to oceanic islands where they were transformed into humans as a reward for their piety towards their parents.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/L446AelianCharacteristicsOfAnimalsI15/L446-Aelian%20Characteristics%20of%20Animals%20I%3A1-5#page/n104/mode/1up/|title=Aelian on the characteristics of animals. Volume I. Books I-V.|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1958|editor=Schofield, A.F.|page=185}}</ref> The bird is featured in at least three of Aesop's Fables: The Fox and the Stork, The Farmer and the Stork, and The Frogs Who Desired a King. Storks were also thought to care for their aged parents, feeding them and even transporting them, and children's books depicted them as a model of filial values. A Greek law called ''Pelargonia'', from the [[Social:Ancient Greek|Ancient Greek]] word ''pelargos'' for stork, required citizens to take care of their aged parents.{{sfn|Elliott|1992|pp=460-1}} The Greeks also held that killing a stork could be punished with death.<ref>{{cite book |chapter= The White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia'' Protection in Poland by Fradition, Customs, Law, and Active Efforts |last= Dolata |first= Pawel T. |editor-last1= Tryjanowski |editor1-first= Piotr |editor-last2= Sparks |editor-first2= Tim H. |editor-last3= Jerzak |editor-first3= L. |title= The White Stork in Poland: Studies in Biology, Ecology and Conservation |publisher= Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe |location= Poznań, Poland |year= 2006 |isbn= 978-83-60247-35-8}}</ref> Storks were allegedly protected in Ancient Thessaly as they hunted snakes, and widely held to be Virgil's "white bird".<ref name="Royds14">{{cite book |last= Royds |first= Thomas Fletcher |title= The Beasts, Birds, and Bees of Virgil; A Naturalist's Handbook to the Georgics |publisher= [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year= 1914 |url= https://archive.org/stream/beastsbirdsbeeso00roydrich#page/36/mode/2up/search/Stork |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Roman writers noted the white stork's arrival in spring, which alerted farmers to plant their vines.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Thomas |first1= Richard F. |year= 1988 |title= Vergil's "White Bird" and the Alexandrian reference (G. 2. 319-20) |journal= Classical Philology |volume= 83 |issue= 3 |pages= 214–7 |url= http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3775754/Thomas_Vergil_WhiteBird.pdf?sequence=2 |doi= 10.1086/367107|s2cid= 161540189 }}</ref> On occasion ancient Egyptians mummified White storks.<ref name=Gautier>{{cite journal |last1=Gautier  |first1=Achilles  |date=2005 |title=Animal Mummies and Remains from the Necropolis of Elkab (Upper Egypt) |url=https://revistas.uam.es/archaeofauna/article/view/7441 |journal=archaeofauna  |volume=14 |pages=139-170 |access-date=25 December 2023}}</ref>

Followers of [[Religion:Islam|Islam]] revered storks because they made an annual pilgrimage to [[Place:Mecca|Mecca]] on their migration.<ref name="sax" /> Some of the earliest understanding on bird migration were initiated by an interest in white storks; ''[[Biology:Pfeilstorch|Pfeilstörche]]'' ("arrow storks") were found in Europe with African [[Engineering:Arrow|arrow]]s embedded in their bodies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kaatz |first1=Martin |last2=Kaatz |first2=Michael |last3=Meinzenbach |first3=Anne |last4=Springer |first4=Steffen |last5=Zieger |first5=Michael |date=2023-11-01 |title=From "arrow storks" to search engine data: Google Trends reveals seasonality in search interest for migratory white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in Germany |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004452312300102X |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |volume=307 |pages=83–88 |doi=10.1016/j.jcz.2023.09.005 |s2cid=262028097 |issn=0044-5231}}</ref> A well-known example of such a stork found in the summer of 1822 in the German town of Klütz in Mecklenburg was made into a mounted taxidermy specimen, complete with the ornate African arrow, that is now in the [[Organization:University of Rostock|University of Rostock]].<ref name="arrow">{{cite journal |last= Kinzelbach |first= Ragnar |year= 2003 |title= Der Pfeilstorch in der Zoologischen Sammlung der Universität Rostock |journal= Der Sprössling: Fachschaftsrat Biologie der Universität Rostock |issue= 3 |language= de |pages= 9–10 |url= http://www.biofachschaft.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/MathNat_Bio_Fachschaft/Sproessling_Nr._3_SS03.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125180016/http://www.biofachschaft.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/MathNat_Bio_Fachschaft/Sproessling_Nr._3_SS03.pdf |archive-date= 2014-11-25 }}</ref>

[[File:Stork moral education.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Supposed filial virtues of the stork in a children's moral education text from 1831<ref>{{cite book |author= Unknown |title= Descriptive Scenes for Children |publisher= N.S. and S.G. Simpkins |location= Boston |year= 1831 |page= 3 |oclc= 31373438 |url= https://archive.org/stream/descriptivescene00bostiala#page/n1/mode/1up |via= The [[Internet Archive|Internet Archive]]}}</ref>]]

Storks have little fear of humans if not disturbed, and often nest on buildings in Europe. In Germany, the presence of a nest on a house was believed to protect against fires. They were also protected because of the belief that their souls were human.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hardwick |first= Charles |title= Traditions, Superstition and Folk-lore |publisher= A. Ireland and Co |location= Manchester, UK |year= 1872 |url= https://archive.org/stream/traditionssuper00unkngoog#page/n270/mode/1up/ |pages= 238, 247–8 |via= The [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> German, Dutch and Polish households would encourage storks to nest on houses, sometimes by constructing purpose-built high platforms, to bring good luck.<ref name="Margolis72" /> Across much of Central and Eastern Europe it is believed that storks bring harmony to a family on whose property they nest.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of Ukraine">{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages/S/T/Stork.htm |title= Stork |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Ukraine |publisher= Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies |access-date=5 December 2010}}</ref>

The white stork is a popular motif on postage stamps, and it is featured on more than 120 stamps issued by more than 60 stamp-issuing entities.<ref name="Birdtheme">{{cite web |url= http://www.birdtheme.org/mainlyimages/index.php?spec=1432 |title= White Stork |last= Scharning |first= Kjell |work= Theme Birds on Stamps |access-date= 5 December 2010}}</ref> It is the national bird of Lithuania, Belarus<ref name="Lithuania">{{cite web |url= http://en.strasbourg-europe.eu/lithuania,13812,en.html |title= Lithuania |work= Understanding the European Union: Member States |publisher= Centre d'Information sur les Institutions Européennes (CIIE) |access-date= 5 December 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110720173110/http://en.strasbourg-europe.eu/lithuania,13812,en.html |archive-date= 20 July 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> and Poland, and it was a Polish mascot at the Expo 2000 Fair in Hanover.<ref name="paiiz">{{cite web| title= Kingdom of Storks |work= PAIIZ Newsletter |issue= 14 |date= 22 March 2007 |url= http://www.paiz.gov.pl/index/?id=845f3cb43a07259b2e4724dfa5c5c0d1#71| publisher= Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIIZ) |access-date= 18 March 2011}}</ref> Storks nesting in Polish villages such as Żywkowo have made them tourist attractions, drawing 2000–5000 visitors a year in 2014.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Czajkowski|first1=Mikołaj|last2=Giergiczny|first2=Marek|last3=Kronenberg|first3=Jakub |last4=Tryjanowski|first4=Piotr|date=2014 |title=The economic recreational value of a white stork nesting colony: A case of 'stork village' in Poland|journal=Tourism Management|volume=40|pages=352–360 |doi=10.1016/j.tourman.2013.07.009}}</ref> In the 19th century, storks were also thought to only live in countries having a republican form of government.<ref>{{cite book |page= 260 |url= https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistorylo00hulmuoft#page/260/mode/1up/ |title= Natural History Lore and Legend |last=Hulme |first= F. Edward |year= 1895 |publisher= Bernard Quaritch |place= London |via= The [[Internet Archive]] |quote= The extraordinary idea that storks were found only in countries having a republican form of government held its ground for a considerable time, though it would appear as though nothing could have been simpler than its prompt disproof.}}</ref> Polish poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid mentioned storks in his poem ''Moja piosnka (II)'' ("My Song (II)"):<ref>{{cite web |title= My Song (II) |url= http://www.mission.net/poland/warsaw/literature/poems/mysong.htm |last= Norwid |first= Cyprian Kamil |work= Polish Literature |publisher= LDS Mission Network |access-date= 23 December 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110517032509/http://www.mission.net/poland/warsaw/literature/poems/mysong.htm |archive-date= 17 May 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

{{poemquote|
For the land where it's a great travesty
To harm a stork's nest in a pear tree,
For storks serve us all&nbsp;...
I am homesick, Lord!&nbsp;...
|translated by Walter Whipple}}

In 1942 [[Biography:Heinrich Himmler|Heinrich Himmler]] sought to use storks to carry Nazi propaganda leaflets so as to win support from the Boers in South Africa. The idea for this "Storchbein-Propaganda" plan was a secret that was transmitted by Walter Schellenberg to be examined by the German ornithologist Ernst Schüz at the [[Organization:Rossitten Bird Observatory|Rossiten bird observatory]], who pointed out that the probability of finding marked storks in Africa was less than one percent, requiring a 1000 birds to transmit 10 leaflets successfully. The plan was then dropped.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/13687293|title=Flugblätter für Afrika|date=10 January 1994|newspaper=Der Spiegel|access-date=June 30, 2018|language=de|pages=53–54}}</ref>

=== Storks and delivery of babies===
[[File:Carl Spitzweg 029.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|''Der Klapperstorch'' (''The Stork''), a painting by Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885)]]

According to European folklore, the stork is responsible for bringing babies to new parents. The legend is very ancient, but was popularised by a 19th-century Hans Christian Andersen story called "The Storks".<ref name="sax">{{cite book |last= Sax |first= Boria |title= The Mythical Zoo |year= 2001 |location= Oxford, UK |publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn= 978-1-57607-612-5 |pages= 153–4}}</ref> German folklore held that storks found babies in caves or marshes and brought them to households in a basket on their backs or held in their beaks. These caves contained ''adebarsteine'' or "stork stones". The babies would then be given to the mother or dropped down the chimney. Households would notify when they wanted children by placing sweets for the stork on the window sill.<ref name="Margolis72" /><!-- Cites previous four sentences. --> From there the folklore has spread around the world to the {{wipe|Philippines}} and countries in [[Earth:South America|South America]].<ref name="Margolis72" /> Birthmarks on the back of the head of newborn baby, ''nevus flammeus nuchae'', are sometimes referred to as stork-bite.<ref>{{cite journal |title= The incidence of birthmarks in the neonate |last1= Jacobs| first1= Alvin H. |first2= Robert G. |last2= Walton | journal= Pediatrics |year= 1976 | volume= 58 | issue=2 |pages= 218–22|doi= 10.1542/peds.58.2.218|pmid= 951136|s2cid= 245028603}}</ref>

[[File:Stork bringing baby - Colmar, Alsace, 2016.05.18 (35).jpg|thumb|left|Stork bringing baby - Colmar, Alsace]]
[[File:Rotunda Hospital sign.jpg|thumb|left|Neon sign depicting a stork on the Rotunda Hospital, an Irish maternity hospital]]
In Slavic mythology and pagan religion, storks were thought to carry unborn souls from [[Unsolved:Vyraj|Vyraj]] to Earth in spring and summer.<ref>{{cite book |last= Gieysztor |first= Aleksander |year= 1982 |language= pl |title= Mitologia Słowian |publisher= Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe |location=Warsaw |isbn= 978-83-221-0152-0}}</ref> This belief still persists in the modern folk culture of many Slavic countries, in the simplified child story that "storks bring children into the world".<ref>{{cite web |last= Jakubiec |first= Z. |url= http://bocianopedia.pl/bociany-i-bocki/bocian-i-czlowiek-czyli-nasz-powszechnie-lubiany-sasiad/dlaczego-bocian-przynosil-dzieci/157 |title= Dlaczego bocian przynosił dzieci? |year= 2009 |work= Bocianopedia |access-date= 10 March 2011 |language= pl}}</ref> Storks were seen by Early Slavs as bringing luck, and killing one would bring misfortune.<ref name="autonazwa1">{{cite journal |last= Szczepanowicz |first= Barbara |title= Ptaki Ziemi Świętej: Bocian, czapla, ibis |trans-title= Birds in the Holy Land: Stork, heron, ibis |journal= Ziemia Święta |issue= rok XI 1(41) |year= 2005 |url= http://basia.tomp.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=12 |language= pl |access-date= 8 February 2011}}</ref>

Likewise, in Norse mythology, the god [[Religion:Hœnir|Hœnir]], responsible for giving reason to the first humans, Ask and Embla, has been connected with the stork through his epithets ''long-legs'' and ''mud-king'', along with [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] cognates such as [[Social:Ancient Greek|Greek]] κύκνος 'swan' and [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] शकुन.<ref>Viktor Rydberg 1886, ''Undersökningar i germanisk mythologi, first part'', p. 552</ref>

A long-term study that showed a spurious correlation between the numbers of stork nests and human births is widely used in the teaching of basic [[Statistics|statistics]] as an example to highlight that [[Correlation and dependence|correlation]] does not necessarily indicate [[Causality|causation]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Matthews |first1= Robert |title= Storks deliver babies |journal= Teaching Statistics |volume= 22 |issue= 2 |pages= 36–8 |year= 2000 |doi= 10.1111/1467-9639.00013 |s2cid= 120711468 |url= http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb21/motologie/mitarbeiter_seiten/ls/storks.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter= Statistical Causality |last= Didelez |first= Vanessa |editor-last= Østreng |editor-first= Willy|pages= 114–20 |title= Consilience: Interdisciplinary Communications 2005/2996 |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-82-996367-4-2 |publisher= Centre for Advanced Study, Oslo |chapter-url =http://www.stats.bris.ac.uk/~maxvd/Consilience_Did.pdf}}</ref>

Psychoanalyst Marvin Margolis suggests the enduring nature of the stork fable of the newborn is linked to its addressing a psychological need, in that it allays the discomfort of discussing sex and procreation with children. Birds have long been associated with the maternal symbols from pagan goddesses such as Juno to the [[Religion:Holy Spirit|Holy Ghost]], and the stork may have been chosen for its white plumage (depicting purity), size, and flight at high altitude (likened to flying between Earth and Heaven).<ref name="Margolis72" /> The fable and its relation to the internal world of the child have been discussed by [[Biography:Sigmund Freud|Sigmund Freud]]<ref name="Margolis72" /> and [[Biography:Carl Jung|Carl Jung]].<ref name="Jung10">{{cite journal |last= Jung |first= Carl |year= 1910 |title= The Association Method&nbsp;– Lecture III: Experiences concerning the psychic life of the child |journal= American Journal of Psychology |volume= 31 |pages= 219–69 |jstor= 1422691 |url= http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Jung/Association/lecture3.htm |issue= 3 |doi= 10.2307/1413002 |via= York University|hdl= 11858/00-001M-0000-002B-AD55-2 |hdl-access= free }}</ref> In fact, Jung recalled being told the story himself upon the birth of his own sister.<ref name="Pickles11">{{cite web |last= Pickles |first= Penny |year= 2011 |title= Jung the Man |publisher= The Society of Analytical Psychology |work= The Society of Analytical Psychology: Jungian Analysis and Psychotherapy |location= London |url= http://www.thesap.org.uk/jung-the-man |access-date= 2 March 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111103203801/http://www.thesap.org.uk/jung-the-man |archive-date= 3 November 2011 }}</ref> The traditional link with the newborn continues with their use in [[Finance:Advertising|advertising]] for such products as nappies and baby announcements.<ref name="Margolis72" />

There were negative aspects to stork folklore as well; a Polish folk tale relates how God made the stork's plumage white, while the Devil gave it black wings, imbuing it with both good and evil impulses. They were also associated with handicapped or stillborn babies in Germany, explained as the stork having dropped the baby en route to the household, or as revenge or punishment for past wrongdoing. A mother who was confined to bed around the time of childbirth was said to have been "bitten" by the stork.<ref name="Margolis72" /> In Denmark, storks were said to toss a nestling off the nest and then an egg in successive years.<ref name="Margolis72" /> In medieval England, storks were also associated with adultery, possibly inspired by their courtship rituals. Their preening and posture saw them linked with the attribute of self-conceit.<ref name="deVries76">{{cite book |last= de Vries |first= Ad |title= Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery |year= 1976 |page= [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/445 445] |publisher= North-Holland Publishing Company |location= Amsterdam |isbn= 978-0-7204-8021-4 |url= https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/445 }}</ref> Children of African American slaves were sometimes told that white babies were brought by storks, while black babies were born from [[Biology:Buzzard|buzzard]] eggs.<ref>{{cite book |title= The White Image in the Black Mind: African-American Ideas about White People, 1830–1925 |last= Bay |first= Mia |year= 2000 |publisher= [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-19-513279-3 |page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195132793/page/120 120]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195132793|url-access= registration }}</ref>

<!--
===In literature===
Patrick Leigh Fermor describes a flock of storks migrating south across the Balkans in 1934 in his memoir published as ''The Broken Road''.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first= Patrick Leigh |editor-last= Fermor |first1= Colin |last1= Thubron |first2= Artemis |last2= Cooper |year= 2014 |title= The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos |location= London |publisher= John Murray |page= 54 |isbn= 978-1-84854-754-4}}</ref>

Lord Byron describes a stork devouring a snake at the climax of his vampire tale, Fragment of a Novel.
-->
{{clear}}

== See also ==
* Klepetan and Malena

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Works cited ==
* {{cite book |editor-first= Stanley |editor-last= Cramp |title= Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 1977 |isbn= 978-0-19-857358-6}}
* {{cite book |last= Elliott |first= Andrew |editor-last1= del Hoyo |editor-first1= Josep |editor-last2= Elliott |editor-first2= Andrew |editor-last3= Sargatal |editor-first3= Jordi |title= Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks |chapter= Family Ciconiidae (Storks) | year = 1992 | location = Barcelona | publisher = Lynx Edicions | isbn = 978-84-87334-10-8 |title-link= Handbook of the Birds of the World }}
* {{cite book |last= Newton |first= Ian |title= Bird Migration |year= 2010 |series= Collins New Naturalist Library |volume=113 |location= London |publisher= Collins |isbn= 978-0-00-730732-6}}
* {{cite book |title= Collins Bird Guide |year= 1999 |first1= Lars |last1= Svensson |first2= Peter J. |last2= Grant |publisher= HarperCollins |location= London |isbn= 978-0-00-219728-1}}
<!-- not used
* {{cite book |title= Conservation Management of the White Stork: An International Opportunity |last1= Goriup |first1= P. |last2= Schulz |first2= H. |year= 1990 |publisher= International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) |series= ICBP Study Report no. 37 |location= Cambridge, UK |isbn= }}
-->
* {{cite book |title= The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 1: Non-Passerines |year= 1998 |editor-first1= David William |editor-last1= Snow |editor-first2= C.M. |editor-last2= Perrin |editor-first3= Robert |editor-last3= Gillmor |editor-first4= Brian |editor-last4= Hillcoat |editor-first5= C.S. |editor-last5= Roselaar |display-editors= 3 |edition= Concise |publisher= [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 978-0-19-854099-1 |ref={{sfnref|Snow|Perrins|Gillmor|etal|1998}}}}
* {{cite book |title= Eastern European White Stork Populations: Migration Studies and Elaboration of Conservation Measures |last= Van den Bossche |first= Willem |year= 2002 |publisher= Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN)/German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation |url= http://wandertag.biologischevielfalt.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/storch.pdf |location= Bonn |issue= BfN-Skripten 66 |others= (In collaboration with: Berthold, Peter; Kaatz, Michael; Nowak, Eugeniusz; Querner, Ulrich) |access-date= 2010-12-04 |archive-date= 2011-07-18 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718202622/http://wandertag.biologischevielfalt.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/storch.pdf |url-status= dead }}

== External links ==
<!-- Please DO NOT add any nest webcams to this section! -->
* {{cite web |url= http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/46_WhiteStorkCciconia.pdf |title= Ageing and sexing by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze |access-date= 2014-12-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141202063416/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/46_WhiteStorkCciconia.pdf |archive-date= 2014-12-02 |url-status= dead }}&nbsp;{{small|(4.43 MB)}}
* [http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Feather_Collection/Ciconia_ciconia/Ciconia_ciconia.htm Feathers of white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304044202/http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Feather_Collection/Ciconia_ciconia/Ciconia_ciconia.htm |date=2018-03-04 }}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfs3T1Nd40E Educational video about white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'')]

{{Taxonbar |from=Q25352}}

[[Category:Ciconia|white stork]]

{{Sourceattribution|White stork}}