We have known storks since childhood. These are the same birds that make their nests on the pillars and roofs of our houses. They say that if a stork has settled, then happiness has come to the family. Perhaps that is why no one offends these graceful long-legged and long-beaked beauties. And those in response are not at all afraid of people.
But in fact, the life of storks is not as simple as it seems. Among them there are those who do not let anyone close to them and settle in the most inaccessible places. You certainly won't expect happiness from these. And in the many-sided family of storks there are enviable flyers who annually overcome thousands of kilometers, there are also homebodies who cannot be driven out of habitable places with a stick. Where do storks live in summer and winter, how do they look for a mate, how do they raise their children, and is it true that they bring happiness? Let's figure it out.
What are storks
Few people have never seen slender white and black birds on long red legs with a long red beak. Some homeowners decorate their gardens with such figurines made of synthetic materials, even build onartificial nests on the pillars and put the figurines there. These birds are called storks. According to popular beliefs, they bring a lot of good things to the house - children, good luck, money, happiness. So people settle them in their plots, if not living, then at least artificial. The life of storks in nature is complex and interesting.
Many people know that they can stand on one leg for a long time, looking for prey, that they arrive in spring and fly away in autumn, that they do no harm to anyone. Do you know how many species of storks exist in the world? According to the generally accepted classification, there are only three genera:
- Beaked storks (they look a little like a heron).
- Razini storks (they always have a slightly open beak).
- Actually storks.
Each genus has its own species. So, there are beaks:
- American;
- grey;
- African;
- Indian.
Razini happen:
- African;
- Indian.
And looking at the above names, one can answer where storks of these species live. But a slightly different picture is obtained with storks that are more familiar to us. There are birds in this genus:
- black;
- white;
- black-beaked;
- white collar;
- white-bellied;
- American;
- Malay.
There are two more kinds of birds that look like storks and even belong to the stork family - these are the yabiru and the marabou.
Let's take a closer look at some of the species.
White storks
These are thosethe birds themselves, whose figurines are so fond of settling in their gardens and on chimneys, some homeowners. The life of white storks, it would seem, is well studied, because they are always in sight, they are not at all afraid of people. Males of these birds grow up to 125 cm in height and gain up to 4 kg of weight. At the same time, their wingspan can reach 2 meters. The body of white storks (head, chest, belly, wings) is white, only the tip of the tail and the ends of the feathers on the wings are black. Their paws are thin and long, reddish in color, the beak is also thin and long, most often bright red. The portrait of a female white stork is exactly the same, only her size is a little more modest.
The places where white storks live are mainly meadows and swampy lowlands. They feed on any amphibians, snakes (mainly vipers and snakes), earthworms, beetles. They do not disdain the hated bears, mice and rats, eating which they really bring happiness to the house. Adult storks do not refuse even moles, small hares and gophers.
It is interesting to watch the birds hunt. They slowly, as if half asleep, walk through a meadow or swamp, sometimes freeze in one place, as if meditating. But as soon as they see prey, storks instantly come to life and quickly grab their prey.
These birds build houses, as they say, for centuries and never change them. There is a known case when one nest existed for almost 400 years! Of course, all this time it was not the same stork that occupied him. The life expectancy of these birds is approximately 20 years, so in fourNot many generations have changed over the centuries. But the "apartment" of dry twigs and straw was occupied by representatives of the same family. That is, from the father she passed to the son and so on.
But you can't say much about the heartfelt fidelity of these birds. They create a strong family, but only for one season. The male first flies to his expensive dwelling, corrects it, if necessary, and sits down to wait for the chosen one. She can be any female, the first to fly up to an enviable groom. He throws back his violent little head, almost lays it on his back, opens his beak and begins to make a joyful clatter. If suddenly at this stage another contender for a heart and living space approaches the nest, the first one begins to sort things out with her, and the male dutifully waits for someone to take.
The only situation when he shows concern is if suddenly another male, who does not want to build his own house, covets his property. Then the owner of the nest throws his head back again and begins to click with his beak, only this time not joyfully, but menacingly. If the uninvited guest does not understand the hints, the owner of the nest rushes at him and beats him painfully with his beak.
Well, the issue with housing is settled, with the chosen one too. The bride and groom sit down in the nest, both throw back their heads and begin to rejoice, while clapping and lightly hitting each other with their beaks.
Reproduction
These birds have chosen for themselves many areas of Europe, including Southern Switzerland, the Leningrad region, almost the entire territory of Ukraine, and in Belarus there are so many storks that they were called a winged symbolcountries. When asked where storks live in Russia, one can answer that representatives of the white stork species can only be found in its western part, from the borders with Ukraine to Orel, Kaluga, Smolensk, Pskov and Tver. There is a separate population in Transcaucasia and Uzbekistan. In the European part, storks return from the southern regions in March-April.
Having chosen a couple, they proceed to procreate. Having carefully lined the nest with rags, pieces of paper, feathers and wool, the female lays the first egg in the tray and immediately begins to incubate it. In the future, she gradually manages to add 3-5 more slightly oblong white testicles to the firstborn.
Noted that the place where storks live should be with good energy. In the courtyards where they built their own home, there should be no scandals and abuse, and even more so war.
Dad and Mom take turns incubating the testicles for about 33 days. Chicks are born just as unevenly as eggs. They are born sighted, but completely helpless. At first, they only know how to open their beaks, where parents put earthworms and give them water to drink. But after a couple of days, the younger generation itself knows how to collect worms dropped by their parents and even grab them on the fly.
Dad and mom are vigilantly watching the activity of their offspring. Unfortunately, they provide the weakest ones with the opportunity to take care of themselves by pushing them out of the nest to the ground. The remaining chicks quickly gain strength, but are completely dependent for up to 55 days. Then they begin to leave the nest during the day andlearn to catch their own food. Parents feed them for another 18 days. In the evening, the young go back home to sleep, and in the morning they go back to school.
Migration paths
Many are interested in where storks live in winter and why they fly away. The second question is easy to answer - with the onset of cold weather, their food disappears. The answer to the first question is more extensive. On the 70th day of their bird life, the chicks become young storks, gather in large companies, and from the last days of summer, without parents, flocks go south.
How they find their way to where they have never been, scientists are still arguing, but the main assumption is the instinct inherent in the genes of birds. It is believed that they are guided by atmospheric pressure, lighting and ambient temperature. It has been observed that storks avoid flying over large bodies of water, for example over the sea.
Adult birds leave their summer quarters around the 15th of September. Surprisingly, it turns out that it is important for migration routes where storks and ducks live, too. Birds that spend their summers west of the Elbe migrate to Africa and settle in the region between the Sahara and the tropical jungle. Those living east of the Elbe pave their way through Israel and Asia Minor, also reach Africa, only its eastern regions, and winter on the lands from Sudan to South Africa. Storks from Uzbekistan and adjacent regions do not fly so far for the winter, but move to neighboring India.
There is a population of storks living in South Africa. These do not migrate anywhere at all, they live settled. Storks from Europe do not fly away for the winter, where winters are not severe, and food remains active.whole year. In the spring they form flocks again to fly home, but the young may stay in the south for a year, two or three, before reaching maturity.
Black storks
Representatives of this species managed to get into the Red Book of many countries, including Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, and this despite the fact that black storks, unlike white ones, never settle near people, but choose for themselves the most remote and hidden from prying eyes territories, sometimes climbing mountains to a height of over 2 km.
Nests are built in rocks or tall trees. Where do black storks live? Also in Europe, and in Russia, they settled from the B altic to the Far East. They migrate to Africa and South Asia for the winter. Populations living in Africa are not moving anywhere.
Outwardly, these birds are very graceful. In size, they are somewhat smaller than their white relatives. Most of their body (head, neck, back, wings) is black with overflow, only the belly is white, which creates the appearance that these birds are dressed in elegant tailcoats.
The rhythms of their lives are the same as the white storks, but there are some slight differences. So, the male does not wait indifferently for the first girlfriend, but invites her to his house, fluffing his tail and whistling. Chicks of this species are born even more helpless than those of white storks, and begin to rise to their feet only on the 11th day. But in the nest, the young spend the same 55 (less often - a little longer) days.
Methods of nutrition and diet they have with white storks is about the same. Cross white and blackstorks have not yet succeeded, despite many similarities.
Far Eastern stork
It is also called Chinese. Where does the stork live and what does it eat? Of course, he chose the Far East for himself, as well as China, South Korea and Mongolia. There are only 3,000 left in Russia.
The diet of the bird is the same as that of its other brethren - fish, bugs, frogs, small rodents. Just like the black one, the Far Eastern stork prefers to climb away from human eyes.
Outwardly, representatives of this species are very similar to white storks. The difference lies in larger sizes, but the main thing is in the red circle of skin around the eyes and in the black color of their beak, which is why the other name of the species is the black-billed stork. Curiously, the Far Eastern stork chicks have a red-orange beak, and white chicks have a black beak.
White-necked stork
If you are interested in where storks and ducks live, the answer is near water bodies and in swamps - it is most suitable for white-necked storks, because the main dishes in their diet are toads, small and medium fish, living and non-living, as well as water snakes and other fauna that fit in the beak. For example, if the opportunity to catch a small rodent turns up, white-necked storks will also not miss the moment.
Representatives of this species in Russia can only be seen in zoos. In the wild, they live in Africa, Java, Borneo, Bali and some other islands. White-necked storks are medium-sized birds, they grow up to 90 cm. They have white not only the neck, but also the lower abdomen, andalso lower tail feathers. The rest of the body, including the spectacular cap on the head, is black, and the feathers shimmer beautifully on the sides. The legs of these storks are long, yellow-orange-reddish, and the beak is of an incomprehensible color, combining shades of gray, red, yellow and brown.
White-bellied stork
Representatives of the species are very similar to black relatives, but much smaller than them in size and are the smallest storks. Adult males grow no more than 73 cm in height and only up to 1 kg in weight. In Russia, they live only in zoos, and in nature their range is South Africa, Central Africa and the edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The white-bellied stork eats caterpillars and beetles, does not encroach on rodents and snakes. Settles mainly in forests, on tall trees.
Gape Stork
There are many places where storks and ducks live, as well as other birds that like to settle near water bodies. For example, razini storks. Their habitats are Madagascar, parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. There are no winter chills, but razini storks still migrate.
They take to the wings when the heat comes on and the pools dry up, which means their food disappears. So they have to fly to where the water still remains, and in it you can catch fish and other living creatures.
Razini got their name because of the structure of the beak, which seems to be a little ajar all the time. In fact, nature has thought of everything here and created their beak adapted for eating mussels and crustaceans, and not just fish and toads.
Beaked Stork
Representatives of this genus of storks are less graceful, but it is not their size that gives some clumsiness to their figure (they are almost as large as white storks), but a rather solid beak. The plumage of the beaks is mostly white, but in the Indian species it is some kind of dirty gray, with black feathers on the wings. The American has a gray head, while the gray, on the contrary, has a white head, only the feathers on the wings are gray.
Beaked beaks live in America, Asia and Africa, choosing for themselves swampy lowlands where you can find a lot of food, and where there are tall trees for building their nests on them. Beaks, like white storks, are not afraid to settle near people, they can often be found in rice fields, in city parks and on trees or poles in rural settlements. In this genus, birds are familiar with fidelity not only to their home, but also to their partner. So, American beaks create a pair for life.
Every kind of stork is unique. In Russia, for the protection of birds living on its territory, rehabilitation centers have been established (in the Leningrad, Moscow, Ryazan, Kaluga, Smolensk and Tver regions). Anyone who finds storks or their chicks in trouble can turn for help there.
