Stork is the name of a group of birds with long legs, strong wings, and a long, pointed beak. Many more species (kinds) of storks live in the Eastern Hemisphere than in the Western Hemisphere. Storks feed on insects, fish, frogs, reptiles, young birds, and small mammals. Most species of storks look for food in swamps and marshes, but some species hunt in grassy plains and farm fields.
The best-known stork, the white stork, lives in parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa in the summer and in Africa, northern India, and southern China in the winter. This stork is white with black markings on its wings. It has a red beak, and its legs and feet are a reddish-pink. White storks frequently nest on roofs and chimneys. A pair of storks will return to the same nest year after year. The white stork is a respected and protected bird in many places. Many people believe that this bird brings good luck. The familiar legend that the stork brings the new baby into the home arises from the fact that the bird takes loving care of its own young.
Loading the player...White stork
Other storks of the Eastern Hemisphere include the marabou, the black stork, and the woolly-necked stork. The maguari stork and the jabiru, a bird that measures 5 feet (1.5 meters) in height, live in Central and South America.
The wood stork, formerly called the wood ibis, is the only true stork native to the United States. It lives in the cypress swamps of Florida, as well as coastal regions of Central and South America. This large, white bird stands about 31/2 feet (1.1 meters) tall. The undersides of the wings are mostly black, as are the tail feathers. The number of wood storks in Florida declined dramatically during the mid-1900’s, mainly because of loss of swamp lands where the birds fed.
