Do storks really bring little babies?

Image: Hamsterkiste

About the Stork

1 The stork and the children

A stork and its nest

Image: Hamsterkiste

Maybe it works like this: before babies are born, they swim in a big pond. Every so often, a stork comes by and fishes out one of the babies. It carefully places the baby in a diaper, ties it at both ends, and flies off to parents who are hoping for a child. But should you believe that? Probably not! In the past, though, adults really did tell children that babies were brought by the stork. Apparently, the stork has always been a special bird to people. It was called not only the “stork,” but sometimes also “Adebar,” which means “bringer of good luck.”

You can certainly still call this bird a “stork” today, but its proper name is the “White Stork”, or “Ciconia ciconia” in Latin.

Find out:

1. What is the stork’s proper name?

2 The Storks’ Bodies

Storks stretch their necks far forward when flying

Image: Hamsterkiste

The name comes from its white plumage. Only the flight feathers on its wings are black. White storks have red beaks and long red legs. Male and female storks look very similar. Look at the beak: in males, it is sometimes a little longer and thicker.

White storks are fairly large birds. When standing, they can reach a height of up to 80 cm. Their wingspan is about 200 to 220 cm. Their bills are 14 to 19 cm long. They weigh around 2.5 to 4.5 kg and can live for about 20 years. In flight, storks stretch their necks straight out in front of them. This makes them easy to distinguish from herons, which pull their heads in when they fly.

Find out:

2. How large and how heavy do white storks get?

3. How old can they get?

4. What wingspan do they reach?

3 Storks don’t sing; they clatter their bills

This is how storks clatter

Images: Lanzi (public domain)

The white stork is found in Europe, Africa and Asia. There are 19 other species of stork in the world. These include the black stork, the Abdim’s stork and the marabou stork.
The black stork is the only species besides the white stork that raises its young in Europe. Black storks live in countries including Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, France and Portugal. They are slightly smaller and much shyer than their white relatives. Black storks prefer large forests with plenty of ponds and streams. There they find shelter and enough food.
Storks cannot sing as well as other birds. Their call sounds more like a hissing rasp. But they do have their long beaks, which they can use to make a loud, clattering sound.
They clatter to greet one another, but also to defend themselves against other animals. You hear it especially often when storks are looking for suitable mates. When storks clatter, they sometimes twist their necks and heads in astonishing ways.

Find out:

5. How many species of stork are there in the world?

6. Which species besides the white stork raises its young in Europe?

7. What is the purpose of clapping its beak?

4 Storks love damp, marshy ground

Storks foraging for food - Image: Hamsterkiste

The black stork also likes to live in marshy areas - Image: Martina Müller

White storks feed on insects, earthworms, frogs, lizards, snakes and mice. On rare occasions, they prey on the eggs and young of other birds that nest on the ground. Storks sometimes also eat carrion, meaning the flesh of dead animals. Storks love damp, marshy areas.

They find their prey by striding across meadows and through swamps on their long legs. When a stork spots something to eat, it darts its beak down at the prey in a flash.

Find out:

8. What do storks eat?

9. What kind of terrain provides storks with plenty of food?

5 The Stork’s Nest

Storks build their nests high up

Image: Hamsterkiste

Storks prefer to build their nests in tall trees, on power poles and on buildings. These locations keep them safe from predators. They also provide plenty of space, a clear approach for landing and taking off, and a wide view of the area where the storks look for food. A stork’s nest is also called an eyrie. Storks readily use nesting platforms provided by people. For example, round platforms or wagon wheels are placed on tall poles to encourage storks to settle in the area and build a nest. A nest can become quite tall and weigh several hundred kilograms, as it may be used for many decades. Storks can have young when they are four years old. In spring, the pairs reunite. In April, the female lays 3 to 5 eggs in the nest. They are white and about twice the size of chicken eggs. The parents stay together over the summer. The following year, however, each finds a new mate.

Find out:

10. Why do storks build their nests mainly at great heights?

11. At what age can storks have young?

12. How many eggs does a female stork lay in the nest?

5 Young storks

The young storks are fed by both parents

Image: Manfred Heyde (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The young hatch after an incubation period of about 32 days. The beaks and legs of young storks are initially grey. Both parents provide them with food and water. It takes about 2 months for them to grow up and try flying on their own.

Sometimes a young stork is found helpless or dead on the ground beneath a nest. This may be because it fell out of the nest. Another possibility is that it died and was thrown out of the nest by its parents.

Sometimes, however, the parents have several young to feed, and there isn’t enough food for them all. The parents then throw the smallest and weakest stork chick out of the nest and leave it to die.

Find out:

13. How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?

14. How long do young storks receive care from their parents?

15. Why do stork parents sometimes throw a chick out of the nest?

7 Storks are long-distance flyers

Around mid-August, storks set off on a long journey. They leave because they would not find enough food during the cold season. Most storks spend the winter in Africa, south of the Sahara. Some even fly as far as South Africa. Storks cover about 150 to 300 kilometres a day. They make use of strong warm-air updrafts, which carry them high into the sky, then glide as far as they can. This saves energy and allows them to cover the long distance in about two to four months. There are two routes to Africa. The “western migrants” make their way via Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. They spend the winter in West African countries. The “eastern migrants” fly over Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt, then continue south along the Nile to Sudan, Tanzania or even South Africa. Some birds are fitted with transmitters from time to time. The birds can carry them easily, and their signals allow people to track the storks’ flights. Young storks stay in Africa until they are four years old. They often then return to the place where they were born. Older storks make the long journey to Africa every autumn and return the following spring.

Find out:

16. When do storks set off on their journey south?

17. Where do most storks spend the winter?

18. How long do the younger storks stay in Africa?