The biggest stork. Northern summer resident - news, catalogue, consultations. Daily activity, behavior

Storks are majestic, proud birds that live for a long time close to people. The stork family has 18 species and is divided into 9 genera; they live in all corners of the Earth, except deserts. We will talk about a black and white stork.

Description

The black and white stork is listed in the Red Book. Body length is 105-110 cm, wingspan is 215-220 cm, weight is up to 3.5 kg. The length of the tail is moderate, the end is slightly rounded. The black and white stork is covered with black feathers with a violet-green, reddish or metallic tint, and has a white chest and belly. From the outside it looks like a tailcoat worn over a white shirt. The legs and places not covered with feathers are red. The beak is long, 2 times longer than the head, with a sharp end. It has dark color, only in chicks and adults at the time mating games takes on a red color.

Environment and habitat

Storks live almost everywhere white light, in every corner of the Earth, with the exception of deserts. In Russia, black and white storks live in all regions, most often settling in Primorye, on Far East, in the regions of Kaliningrad and Ciscaucasia. There are many swampy forests on the territory of Belarus, ideal for housing in all respects; there are especially many storks there. The government even decided to protect the territory most densely populated by storks. These birds are also found in large quantities in China, Poland, Italian states, East and West Germany.

The black stork is quite shy and very careful, prefers to settle as far as possible from people and animals, choosing remote forest corners, closer to swamps, lakes and ponds. Nests are made on the tops of trees at a height of 10-15 meters, as building material They use branches that are laid in the right way, for fastening - clay, turf. The diameter of such dwellings can be up to one and a half meters, and the weight can reach half a ton. They live in them long years, nests are often inherited by children, who also live in them every year, having offspring.

Wintering
Black storks are migratory birds, especially those who have chosen to live moderately warm zones, fly away to warmer regions for the winter. They set off at the end of August - beginning of September, staying close to the water all the way. For wintering they choose African continent or India. Although black storks lead an isolated lifestyle, avoiding other birds, they often go on long journeys together with storks of other species. Wide wings make 2-3 beats per second. This allows you to move at considerable speeds - up to 40 kilometers per hour. For gliding, they use rising currents - this allows them to stay in the air for a long time without getting tired and give their wings a rest. Such devices help to cover up to 200 kilometers per day.

The birds reach their wintering grounds by the beginning of December and evenly populate the entire territory, where they live until the beginning of spring, when it is time to go home. Returning, the storks fly to their nests, put things in order, and repair them. Birds have a strong attachment to their home.

Enemies

The black stork has no enemies in nature. The only ones that can attack sometimes are eagles. Sometimes - crocodiles. But this rarely happens. Main enemy- Human. Thus, in Italy at the end of the 17th century, storks were completely exterminated.

Nutrition

Storks prefer food of animal origin, although they are not particularly picky about food. They feed mainly on fish and animals living in the water. But during flights and when water bodies dry up in extreme heat, when there are few fish and amphibians, you have to eat other foods. For example:

1. Small mammals - mice, rats, stoats, rodents.
2. Amphibians - frogs, different types lizards, toads.
3. Insects - locusts, grasshoppers, mole crickets, chafers. The larvae of these pests that come across are also eaten.
4. Chicks wild birds, in villages and villages they also catch domestic animals - chickens, ducklings.

Deforestation, as well as drainage of meadows and swamps, causes considerable harm to storks, because the food supply is destroyed.

Some interesting things about black storks

1. In China, since ancient times it was believed that the stork signifies a happy, carefree old age.
2. Many peoples in Europe consider the stork a symbol of caring for elderly parents, because adult birds do not allow their elderly relatives, who are unable to obtain food, to go hungry by feeding them.
3. The legend that where the stork lives there will always be a good harvest is widespread. Therefore, storks are very revered in villages and villages; residents attach wheels from old carts to the roofs so that the stork will build a nest in them. If the feathered tenant suddenly flew away from this place, they believed this to be a punishment for a sinful life, and waited for various misfortunes, troubles and misfortunes to fall on the residents of this house.
4. If the couple flies back and begins to live in the nest again, then a child will appear in the family occupying the house. It is quite possible that the sign that the stork brings children came from this belief.
5. Storks live in the wild for a little over twenty years, but in captivity – somewhat longer. There have been cases where storks lived up to 31 years.
6. Sometimes storks carry out a kind of cleansing in their ranks, getting rid of weak and sick relatives - they kill them. Most often this is done before flights. Maybe there is a reason for such cruelty: weak individuals will not be able to reach the right place, at the same time they will be a brake for the flock, delaying it.
7. In addition to beauty and grace, these birds are distinguished by the assistance they provide to humans in agriculture— they, in search of food, destroy plant pests.
8. Black storks are good indicators of ecology. Having seen that a bird of this species is feeding on a pond, you can be sure that the water is clean from pollution and chemicals.
9. The female lays three to five eggs. Both parents take part in incubating the clutch; incubation of the eggs lasts from 32 to 38 days. If it gets hot in the nest, the birds begin to spray the eggs with water to cool them down. Both parents also take part in feeding - they regurgitate food, and the chicks pick it up from the bottom. At two months, babies begin to learn to fly, and when they reach the age three months, begin an independent life.
10. The structure of the vocal apparatus of storks is such that they are not able to pronounce sounds, they can only squeak quietly. Therefore, they communicate with each other using hissing and clicking their beaks.
11. The language of white and black storks is different, so they cannot understand each other, although they are representatives of the same species. Italian scientists attempted to cross these two subspecies, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
12. If the male is free, then the first female who arrives to the call becomes his wife.
13. Belarusians have made the stork one of the symbols of their country. One of the tales of local folklore tells about the appearance of these birds. God handed the man a large bag full of snakes and ordered him to throw it far into the sea. But the man was overcome by curiosity, he untied the bag and began to look into it. The snakes got free and spread to all corners of the earth. God punished the man by turning him into a stork. Now the unfortunate man wanders from swamp to swamp, exterminating snakes and, until he catches the last one, he will not be able to become a man again.

Video: black stork (Ciconia nigra)

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

White stork

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

Their life expectancy is 20 or 22 years.

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

Black stork

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

Red Book for the Black Stork

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

Conclusion about storks

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

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

Small stork, length up to 1 m, weight up to 3 kg, wingspan - 1.5-2 m. The color is black with a strong metallic sheen - green, bronze, purple, the belly and part of the underside of the wings are white. The legs, unfeathered parts of the "face", the beak slightly sloping upward are crimson-red, the iris is dark.

In young birds, the black color is replaced by a brownish color without shine; the legs, beak, and bare areas of the skin are gray-greenish. Unlike white storks, the repertoire is more diverse - throat coughing sounds, squealing, and beak crackling are rare. The black stork is widespread from of Eastern Europe to the continental Far East, Korea, northern China.

Isolated areas of the nesting range - on the Iberian Peninsula, Turkey, Transcaucasia, Iran, foothills Central Asia, South East Africa. It rises in the mountains up to 2000 m. Winters in tropical Asia and Africa. In Russia it is distributed north to the middle taiga zone.

Feeding black storks in shallow water or near bodies of water, in swamps, meadows, the diet is varied. These storks nest in solitary pairs, in the flat forest zone, usually in trees, high from the ground, in treeless and mountainous areas - on rock ledges.

The nest is made of branches lined with grass, massive, renewed every year, sometimes it is occupied for up to 14 years in a row, but usually there are several nests in the territory of the pair, used alternately. Occasionally storks nest in the nests of large birds of prey. The mating season usually begins immediately upon arrival, in March - April. There are 2-5 eggs in a clutch, incubation lasts 32-46 days, feeding - 63-71 days. The chicks are covered with thick white or grayish down, have a dark frenulum and bright yellow short beaks. They are loud, their voice is a loud croaking and hissing, chirping. Only 35-40 days after hatching are they able to stand in the nest; before that they lie or sit. Adults feed the chicks, regurgitating food 4-5 times a day, sometimes collecting food 5-10 km from the nest.

Autumn migration begins in September, large flocks on migration black storks do not form.

They become sexually mature at the age of 3 years; in nature, according to banding data, they live up to 18 years; the record in captivity is 31 years. Over most of the range black stork- a secretive, cautious bird that avoids humans and is very sensitive to disturbance. Usually people see birds soaring above the forest. Only in some areas in the south and west of its range has the species become more tolerant of humans and settles near settlements, feeding in farmland.

In Russia, the number is steadily declining, the area of ​​places suitable for nesting is decreasing, and the distribution is becoming sporadic. Up to 500 pairs are believed to nest in our country. Listed in the Red Books of Russia and most neighboring countries like a rare vulnerable species.

Black stork - beautiful and rare bird, representing her family.

Is under the protection of the Red Book. It hides from human eyes, so it has been little studied, unlike its white counterpart.

The black stork is a graceful creature long paws up to a meter in height. Each one has fingers with sharp claws. Weighs no more than 3 kg.

The body is large. The head is small and the tail is wedge-shaped. In flight, the wingspan is 1.5 m. It soars in the air, spreading them.

The black stork gets its name from the color of its feathers, despite the fact that it is more greenish-violet than tar. The breast is snow-white. And the color of the legs and beak changes, from brown to scarlet (at the time of mating games.

Younger individuals do not have such a rich shade. Females are visually no different. In general, its plumage of a black stork resembles a tailcoat from under which a snow-white shirt peeks out.

Favorite areas with a larger population are Primorye, Kaliningrad region, Ciscaucasia. It can also be found in Italy, China, the Far East, Germany, and Poland.

But the birds go to Africa and India for the winter. The black stork builds its nest in wooded and swampy areas, preferably remote, with old trees or in the foothills with ponds. Belarus can boast of the maximum accumulation. There is even a special protected area created there.

Prefers to eat fish, eggs, rodents. Occasionally you come across lizards. The black stork, looking for food, can move 15 km away. They migrate before the onset of cold weather. They are classified as diurnal birds. Finding what to eat takes up all your leisure time.

The bird is monogamous by nature. When creating an alliance, they are faithful to one partner. The wedding begins in April. At the age of 3 years, the male performs the female dance. He throws his head back, making a clicking sound. A pair of black storks rises to a height of about 20 m where they build a nest.

Construction material:

1. branches
2. grass
3. clay

There are from 2 to 6 eggs in a clutch. They are oval in shape. Parents take turns incubating. The chicks hatch one after another. The entire period takes a little more than a month. The offspring is born with white fluff. Black stork chicks are loud. Only after 40 days will they be able to stand up on their own.

Their parents feed them for two months by regurgitating food onto the flooring in the nest. The next year, the male returns to the same nest, he knocks, hisses and attracts the female. One dwelling can be used by more than one generation.

Enemies

The black and white stork has no enemies in natural conditions. A cub that falls out of its den can become prey for predators. Likewise, humans destroy feeding areas by cutting them down.

The stork lives up to 18 years and in captivity up to 30. They die mainly from human actions, cutting down the old forest where they settle, pollution of the fauna, illegal shelling and drainage of swamps and meadows.

Since these birds do not settle near people, a web camera has been installed in Estonia at the nesting site of the pair.

When migrating, black storks stay close to water so they can have a snack and rest. They have a voice and make sounds through their throat. In zoos they tried to cross the two breeds, but the idea was a fiasco. Too different marriage rituals in birds.

The black stork is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. A convention has been concluded with the countries of Korea, India, Japan and the DPRK on the safety of unique individuals during the wintering period.

The bird is listed as endangered. Their habitats are protected areas. There are 2,500 pairs of them in Russia. This indicator decreases or remains low.