Human vision sometimes does not notice the minor details that distinguish one from the other. Most often this happens when our mind follows a certain strategy and focuses on the whole picture, and not on its parts. People who rarely see birds do not distinguish them precisely because of this optical illusion. Moreover, errors are made mainly in the definition of water birds. In the article, let's try to figure out what are the differences between a stork, a crane and a heron?
Definition of a stork
Stork is a wandering (migratory) bird of large size, has long legs, the same neck and beak. He has huge, beautiful wings, the length of which can exceed two meters. This bird belongs to the Stork order, the Ankle family. Storks can cover vast territories in a year. Representatives of this family can be found on all continents, but most often they settle in the countries of the tropical zone, in hot and temperate latitudes. The most famous of them is the white stork,whose age can reach 20 years.
The wings of a stork are covered with white feathers, and dark at the edges. This is one of the main external differences between a stork and a crane, in which the plumage is almost completely gray. Living in nests, birds prefer open spaces and the proximity of water bodies. Their diet includes mainly small vertebrates. However, storks will not refuse snakes, frogs and toads. Worms, insects, amphibians, small rodents and fish - the food menu of these demanding birds is so varied.
Crane is a large migratory bird
These birds belong to the Crane family, which has about 15 species worldwide. Their representatives can be found in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe. These birds are distinguished by long gray legs. In the photo you can see the differences between the stork and the crane. It is clearly seen that this bird is decorated with grayish-white (rarely red) plumage. Its beak is short and yellowish in color. A recognizable feature of the crane is its small colored head and long black and white neck. The short feathery tail is especially impressive. Unlike the stork, the crane is larger.
Heron - a feathered inhabitant of the swamps
Heron is a large marsh bird from the Heron family. It has very long legs, and its elongated neck has a curved shape, so similar to the English letter S. Cranes mostly live near water, but adapt well to other conditions. Living in cold areas, birds fly south for the winter and return in the middlespring. Activity is shown not only during the day, but also at night.
The most common representative of this species is the gray heron. The bird feeds exclusively on animals. Being very dexterous, the predator eats everyone who is unable to stand up for himself. Due to habitat, the heron's diet consists of fish, various small vertebrates, mollusks and crustaceans. In fairly large numbers, they destroy land animals: rodents, frogs, snakes, etc.
Differences between herons, cranes and storks: habitats and lifestyle features
The appearance of these birds is well known to both adults and children. But at the same time they are often confused with each other. And no wonder: there is a lot in common between them. But the differences are still an order of magnitude greater.
Herons live near water features such as swamps and reservoirs, making them considered skilled swimmers. During the hunt, they stand in shallow water, vigilantly looking for prey around them. For their nests, they choose places hidden from other eyes: flooded bushes, reeds or reeds. Since the birds are rather timid, they settle far away from people. It is worth noting that they have a very loud and harsh voice, which is often used during the flight.
Storks prefer to live and build their nests in the open. Their home is often on hills, tree branches, or rooftops. This bird is far from being timid, often settling rather close to people's dwellings. Storks are not connected to water, and can grab food from the ground as they go. Besidesthey can't swim and have little to no voice. Instead of screaming, they tap their noses loudly. Birds are inactive at night.
The crane, unlike the stork and heron, can nest both in open spaces and near water bodies on the ground. These birds do not like to approach people, but they do not live alone either. They always live in groups among their relatives. They are vociferous and can perform mating dances, which is not typical of other aquatic birds. Very graceful.
Appearance
During the flight, herons keep their wings parallel to the body, and also retract their neck, which at these moments looks like the letter S. These are small, light birds, their average height is 110 cm, weight 1.5-2, 5 kg. Their plumage is mostly white, rarely pale white. They have a serrated nail on their feet, with which they comb their small feathers. Herons are very elegant and neat birds.
Storks fly with a straight outstretched neck, they do not have a jagged claw. Average height - 125 cm, weight about 4 kg.
The plumage is light, but there are black feathers at the ends of the wings. Although there are species that are completely covered in black feathers.
When flying, cranes have sharp movements of the wings that they have above the body, while their heavy neck is bent like a heron, but the hind legs are extended back.
You can see what different color of feathers these birds have on the presented inarticle photo: the differences between a stork, a crane and a heron are very noticeable. In cranes, feathers are white, gray, and the head, neck and tail are black. In addition, their beak is much shorter than that of their counterparts. In size, they are an order of magnitude larger than storks.
