Storks (Family Ciconiidae) - Bird of the Month: March 2013

[Amoli]

We will be covering the stork family during March.

Post as many pics as your like and any information would be great - try and break your info into snippets for ease of reading.

Have fun....

There are 6 genera of stork : -

• Genus Mycteria
o Milky Stork, (Mycteria cinerea)
o Yellow-billed Stork, (Mycteria ibis)
o Painted Stork, (Mycteria leucocephala)
o Wood Stork, (Mycteria americana)

• Genus Anastomus
o Asian Openbill, (Anastomus oscitans)
o African Openbill, (Anastomus lamelligerus)

• Genus Ciconia
o Abdim's Stork, (Ciconia abdimii)
o Woolly-necked Stork, (Ciconia episcopus)
o Storm's Stork, (Ciconia stormi)
o Maguari Stork, (Ciconia maguari)
o Oriental Stork, (Ciconia boyciana) (formerly in C. ciconia)
o White Stork, (Ciconia ciconia)
o Black Stork, (Ciconia nigra)

• Genus Ephippiorhynchus
o Black-necked Stork, (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
o Saddle-billed Stork, (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

• Genus Jabiru
o Jabiru, (Jabiru mycteria)

• Genus Leptoptilos
o Lesser Adjutant, (Leptoptilos javanicus)
o Greater Adjutant, (Leptoptilos dubius)
o Marabou Stork, (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)


Add hereto :

Hamerkop: Sometimes included to the order Ciconiiformes, but might be closer to the Pelecaniformes


Interesting :.. Marabou is a French word that means “ugly, misshapen old man”.

[Amoli]

Storks

Storks live on all continents except Antarctica.
They are most commonly found in tropical regions near water.
There are 17-21 species of stork (depends who you ask).
The largest, the Marabou stork, is 4.9 feet tall and has a wingspan of 10.5 feet! (Saddled Billed Stork is the tallest)

They weigh about 20 pounds and live in Asia, India, and Africa.
Storks have long legs, long necks and long beaks.
They are wading birds.
Stork feathers are usually white, black, gray, brown or some combination, although the painted story also has pink feathers, too.
Storks are very graceful when they fly.
Storks prey on fish, amphibians, small reptiles, shellfish, and insects. Some also catch rodents and moles. Others are scavengers.
Storks build their nests in trees, on cliff-ledges, and on man-made structures, and occasionally on the ground.
Their nests can be huge, up to six feet.
Some storks return to the same nest year after year.

Jabiru (from Australia) and Maguari stork use their pointed bills to jab prey in water or tall grass.
Open-billed storks use their beaks to open snails, clams and mussels.
The smallest stork is the Hammerkop, standing 2 feet tall and weighing only a pound, although some don’t consider it part of the stork family.

Fun Stork Facts
- A stork can live 20 to 30 years.
- Some storks are colony nesters; others only nest in pairs.
- The Jabiru is also called the black-necked stork and has coral colored legs.
- Storks can hiss, honk, croak, squeal and whistle. They also clatter their beaks.
- The European and Asian white stork winters in Africa.
- The wood stork is the only stork that breeds in the US.
- Storks usually lay 3 to 5 eggs.


References
Australian Museum Online
Honolulu Zoo
San Diego Zoo
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Wild Watch

[Toko]

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families.

Scientific classification
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconiidae

Storks occur in many regions of the world and tend to live in drier habitats than the related herons, spoonbills and ibises; they also lack the powder down that those groups use to clean off fish slime. Storks have no syrinx and are mute, giving no call; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork communication at the nest. Many species are migratory. Most storks eat frogs, fish, insects, earthworms, small birds and small mammals. There are 19 living species of storks in six genera.
Various terms are used to refer to groups of storks, two frequently used ones being a muster of storks and a phalanx of storks.
Storks tend to use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy. Soaring requires thermal air currents. Storks are heavy, with wide wingspans: the Marabou Stork, with a wingspan of 3.2 m, joins the Andean Condor in having the widest wingspan of all living land birds.
Their nests are often very large and may be used for many years. Some nests have been known to grow to over 2 m in diameter and about 3 m in depth. Storks were once thought to be monogamous, but this is only partially true. They may change mates after migrations, and may migrate without a mate. They tend to be attached to nests as much as partners.







Wanna play? -O

Stork Quiz

[Amoli]

80% - good going...

Is a hammerkop a stork ?




I have added the Hammerkop in on the front page.. - and so we learn.

[Toko]

It has been classed into the order Ciconiiformes , but might be closer to the Pelecaniformes

I have added the Hammerkop in on the front page.. - and so we learn.

The order Ciconiiformes has traditionally included several families in addition to Ciconiidae: Threskornithidae (Ibises), Ardeidae (Herons), Balaeniceps (Shoebill), and Scopus (Hamerkop), all of which are actually closer to Pelecanidae than to Ciconiidae, and therefore have been placed in the order Pelecaniformes. So the only family actually in the order Ciconiiformes is Ciconiidae itself according to the most recent majority views.

Hamerkop is not included here

The Wikipedia article gives a good summary Stork Systematics

[Amoli]

• Genus Mycteria
o Milky Stork, Mycteria cinerea
o Yellow-billed Stork, Mycteria ibis
o Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala
o Wood Stork, Mycteria americana

Yellow-billed storks are adaptive and intelligent.

They have a fishing technique of using one foot to stir up the water to flush out prey.

A quick muscular reflex in the neck enables yellow-billed storks to catch almost all of their food in the water.

These storks do not socialize much with one another and tend to isolate themselves in swamps, muddy rivers and marshes.

The yellow-billed stork move slowly and quietly.

They breed nearly all year round.
The male chooses the location of the nest and works with the female to build it in 7-10 days.
Two or three eggs are laid one at a time, two days apart, so the chicks hatch on different days about a month later.
During breeding season they make a hissing sound.
The babies will beg for food with a braying sound.
Adults may make a hollow banging sound with their bills.

They have a lifespan of 30+ years.

It’s greatest threats are cheetahs, leopards, lions and humans

[Toko]

The scientific binomial for the Yellow-billed stork is Mycteria ibis; Mycteria from the Greek for “a nose” and ibis from the Greek for an “ibis”. So it is an ibis with a nose

[Lisbeth]

Yellow billed stork at Sunset Dam



Yellow-billed storks are adaptive and intelligent. They have a fishing technique of using one foot to stir up the water to flush out prey. A quick muscular reflex in the neck enables yellow-billed storks to catch almost all of their food in the water. These storks do not socialize much with one another and tend to isolate themselves in swamps, muddy rivers and marshes. They breed nearly year round. The male chooses the location of the nest and works with the female to build it in 7-10 days. Two or three eggs are laid one at a time, two days apart, so the chicks hatch on different days about a month later.

[Toko]

Yellow-billed Stork



Juveniles have grey backs.




It is the only stork that usually hunts by touch while wading. The slightly open bill must be submerged as far as possible to get at small prey items flushed from the mud sediments by the feed (a behaviour called foot trembling).




In the nonbreeding season, yellow-billed storks are usually in small groups.




Stork on a roosting tree.

[leachy]