The stork is a large bird, outwardly spectacular, and this is used by many fashion brands in their collections of clothes and accessories. But if you can often see these birds on dresses and handbags, then in reality certain types of storks are even listed in the Red Book. The number of black storks (Ciconia nigra) is rapidly declining, there are also few Far Eastern storks (Ciconia boyciana).

The stork family consists of 17 species and 9 genera, the birds are distinguished by a long graceful neck, large body, long unfeathered legs with a swimming membrane and a sharp beak. Different types of these birds differ from each other in appearance. What do storks eat, where do they live, how do they raise their offspring? What are the main species of these birds still have the opportunity to meet? You will find answers to all these questions in the article.

White stork

The Latin name is Ciconia ciconia. This species can be recognized by its white plumage and black wingtips. Due to the contrasting coloration (legs and bright red), the white stork has become a muse for many Asian artists, its image can often be found in Chinese and along with images of cranes. An adult bird weighs an average of 4 kg, females - a little less. Wings white stork reach 60 centimeters in length. Attempts have been made to cross a white stork with a black one, but nothing has come of it, as their mating rituals are too different. White storks are monogamous.

Black stork

The Latin name is Ciconia nigra. Representatives of this species are slightly inferior to white storks in size: they weigh an average of 3 kg, and their wings do not exceed 55 centimeters in length. The color of the bird is usually not pure black, but with a greenish or red tint. The beak, limbs, throat and skin around the eyes are painted red. The abdomen of a black stork, the photo of which is presented to your attention below, is white. A characteristic feature of black storks is monogamy: they choose a partner for life.

stork

The Latin name is Anastomus. This is the common name of the genus, it includes the African razin stork, the Indian razin stork. The main external difference is a larger beak, which does not close completely, there is always a small gap. That is why the bird got its name.

Brazilian Yabiru

The Latin name is Jabiru mycteria. This is a large bird with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters. The tip of the long beak of the stork has a slight upward bend. The body of the Brazilian yabiru is painted white, while the head, neck and beak are blue-black. Females differ from males in yellow eye color. The neck of the stork, the photo of which you can see below, has a red-orange tint at the base.

Marabou

The Latin name is Leptoptilos. This is the common name of the genus, it includes Javanese, African, Indian marabou. Like the Brazilian yabiru, these storks are large, with large heads and massive beaks. Even adult birds look more like ugly ducklings than beautiful swans. The wings in length reach 70 centimeters, the birds weigh about 5 kg. The marabou has an unofficial name - "adjutant", received by him for his gait, like the military. There is no plumage on the bird's head, as well as on a peculiar protrusion of the neck, which helps to hold a heavy beak. The tail, back and wings are painted dark gray or black.

Far Eastern stork

The Latin name is Ciconia boyciana. It belongs to endangered species, in Russia the number of these birds does not exceed three thousand. Birds, like black and white storks, are monogamous. Outwardly, they resemble white storks, but are more massive, and their beak is painted black. It has other names: Chinese, black-billed stork. The area of ​​the skin around the eyes of Far Eastern storks is colored red. The extermination of individuals of this species entails not only a fine, but also imprisonment.

Stork food

The stork's main hunting tool is its beak. What do storks eat? The basis of the diet is animal food: from small insects, molluscs, pests and amphibians to small mammals. You can often see a stork eating snakes and frogs. The stork, the description of which is presented to your attention in the article, is able to catch a small bird, mouse, hare or gopher. Usually storks are slow, but they can also pursue especially interesting prey. It is not uncommon for these birds to cover large (5-10 km) distances from the nesting site in order to get enough food for the chicks.

The stork swallows food whole, is able to bring a large amount to its children. The structure of these birds also allows you to bring water in your beak. When hunting, the stork is easily able to disguise itself as the surrounding vegetation, remains motionless or walks very slowly. These birds almost do not make sounds, so they do not attract the attention of prey. Sometimes for lunch, the stork may choose the eggs of other birds.

What storks eat, we already know. And interestingly, in what quantity? After all, the bird is huge, and as you already know, food can be swallowed whole. For normal functioning, the body of an adult stork needs an average of 700 grams of food per day. Storks are excellent hunters, there are cases when they caught up to 50 mice in one hour.

Lifespan

How long do storks live? Under ideal artificial conditions, birds can live for more than a quarter of a century. And how long do storks live in natural conditions? A rare individual lives up to 15 years. Factors such as environmental conditions, natural selection, diseases, lack of food, harm caused by humans and predators prevent the long life of storks. Sometimes representatives of this family themselves reduce the life expectancy of their fellows by pecking sick birds. It has been noticed that storks live the longest where the energy is positive, where there are no people swearing nearby, where peace and tranquility reign.

Wintering grounds for storks

The stork is a migratory bird, except for South African birds that live in one place without flying anywhere. They are looking for places for wintering, where it will be warm enough and have plenty of food. Old and young storks go for wintering to warmer climes separately. As a rule, this occurs between the end of August and October. The flight takes place in the daytime, the birds fly high, the directions for European and Eastern storks are different.

The birds, whose habitats are located west of the Elbe, head to the Iberian Peninsula, then move towards Africa through Gibraltar. As a result, birds winter in western Africa, in the area between the Sahara desert and the tropics. European storks winter here, as well as birds from the Iberian Peninsula, and from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

Birds whose nesting sites are located east of the Elbe go for wintering to the extended territory between Sudan and South Africa. They fly first to the Bosporus, then cross the lands of Asia Minor and Palestine, fly over the Nile River before reaching their destination. Part of the flock may remain in South Arabia, part chooses Ethiopia for wintering, the rest continue their long journey, some reach India.

The wintering places of storks also differ depending on the species: whites survive the winter in Africa, Pakistan, India, Korea, and the Japanese islands. Black - south of the Sahara, in the Ganges basin, in the southeastern part of China.

About chicks

Most often, there are more eggs in the clutch than chicks hatch: some eggs remain unfertilized. Incubation lasts from 30 to 46 days.

Baby storks have vision but are otherwise helpless for the first 70 days of life. The chicks are white and fluffy, after hatching they lie for about 10 days, and for the first 7 weeks they stay without getting out in the place of birth - the nest. Even after the chick has learned to fly, parents help him in search of food for 2-3 weeks.

While the stork chicks are in the nest, their weight may exceed the weight of the parents, but gradually their food is limited. Storks throw sick, weak chicks out of the nest, leaving only those able to fight for life. Puberty occurs at the age of three years, birds begin to nest later - at 6 years.

Habitat

What determines the habitat of storks? The bird, in order to find food suitable for it, often settles in swamps, damp meadows and reservoirs with stagnant water. The climate for storks is preferred tropical, temperate or hot. Marabou build nests on storks prefer forests, whites - lowlands, yabiru - swampy areas.

White storks live in Europe, in North-West Africa, in Asia Minor and Central Asia, in the Amur Region and Primorye, on the Japanese Islands. Black storks live in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, in the south to the Persian Gulf, in the north - to St. Petersburg, Tomsk. For the black stork, the preferred nesting sites are those where there are old forests, impenetrable swamps. This bird does not like to be next to people.

stork nest

The nests of these birds take up a lot of space: their diameter reaches 2 meters, and their weight is more than 200 kg. Most often, birds choose the roofs of houses or trees, but there are also unexpected places where stork nests were found, for example, a lamppost. Previously, when the roofs of human dwellings were often thatched, storks settled there. Currently, their nests can be found on water towers,

Nest building materials: branches, branches, straw, grass, rags, wool, paper. The nest can accommodate adult parents and up to 7 eggs. Often storks settle where there are already dwellings of their relatives. As a rule, storks live in the same nest for more than one year, they build it very carefully, and repair it as necessary.

Legends and interesting facts about storks

What they eat what species are common - you already know that. In conclusion, I would like to tell you some legends and interesting facts about these incomparable birds. Storks are sacred in many countries, for example, in Japan it is forbidden to hunt them. AT Ancient Greece it was customary to kneel at the sight of the first stork. There are many legends about storks, which cannot be said about any sparrow.

The most mysterious species can be called black storks: they prefer to live as far away from people as possible.

legends

  • A curious legend explains the red coloration of the nose and legs of storks. Once upon a time, this legend says, God gave a man a bag full of snakes, hedgehogs and other reptiles. The man had to get rid of them: burn them, throw them into the sea, bury them, or simply leave them untouched, but he disobeyed. The bag was untied out of curiosity, and the recalcitrant person was punished with lifelong transformation into a bird-eater of various evil spirits. Former man he was ashamed of what he had done, because storks to this day are distinguished by a red nose and limbs.
  • Ukrainian legend: once a stork nested on a house with two babies. There was a fire, but the owners were not at home, then the storks carried the children out of the fire, slightly singeing the tips of the wings. Since then, all storks are black, and the beak and legs are red.

Interesting Facts

  • marabou is a predator and scavenger, so not all members of the stork family feed on frogs and beetles;
  • storks are not inclined to change their nest often, there are cases when several families of birds lived in the same nest for more than 300 years;
  • stork males are not particularly picky: they create a pair with the female who first visits their house (nest);
  • not only females, but also male storks are engaged in incubation of eggs;
  • the ancient Romans believed that chick storks, growing up, feed their parents, but this is not so;
  • during flights, storks can fall asleep for a short time to restore strength, while continuing to move.

Signs associated with storks:

  • a German sign: if a girl meets two storks with the onset of spring, this year will bring her marriage, if one - she will remain unmarried for now;
  • a sign from Morocco: storks were considered people from a distant island, able to turn into birds and vice versa;
  • Moldavians consider this bird a symbol of winemaking and grape growing;
  • in Turkey, it was believed that the house on which the piles were protected from fire and lightning;
  • Polish belief says that storks circle in the sky not just like that, but driving away clouds;
  • Armenians consider storks to be the patrons of agriculture.

In view of the fact that for the second year near my house storks have been nesting on the concrete support of the power line, I decided to replenish my knowledge about these birds. And I learned so many interesting facts that I decided to put them in a magazine. Basically, it concerns the white stork.
So:
Since ancient times, the stork was considered a sacred bird; in ancient mythology, storks (according to another version, cranes) were harnessed to the chariot of Mercury. In the beliefs of the ancient Chinese, he figuratively denoted a happy old age. And in many European traditions, the stork is a symbol of caring for elderly parents, since it was believed that adult storks feed old relatives who are not able to get food on their own.
In the Christian tradition, the stork symbolizes goodness, light and faith, as it actively destroys snakes, which Christianity considered a symbol of sins and the devil.
There is a widespread legend that the stork brings children and a good harvest. It is for this reason that storks were revered in the countryside, and still in the villages they try to protect these birds from all troubles. Since ancient times, peasants have been fixing old cart wheels on the roofs so that the stork can make a nest. If, for some reason, storks left nesting on the house, it was believed that this was a punishment for sins and all sorts of troubles and misfortunes would fall upon the inhabitants of the abandoned house.
But on the African continent, where storks mostly winter, they are hunted. 80 percent of the death of these birds is shooting. Stork meat is used by Africans for food, the head and legs are used in witchcraft rites, and feathers are used for jewelry.
The inhabitants of the Far East did not lag behind the Africans. This led to the fact that the last Far Eastern stork nesting in Korea was killed in 1971. The only exception in the East was Japan, where stork hunting has always been banned.
In enlightened Europe, too, storks were not always treated favorably. In the 17th century, the stork was completely destroyed in Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary did not lag behind, where at the beginning of the 20th century awards were given for shot birds.
The black stork had the worst of it, hunting for which was prohibited only in 1960. Greedy little people believed that he was eating them, destroying fish stocks.
The image of a stork was widely used in heraldry and symbolism. The stork, which is on the coats of arms, means vigilance and foresight, as it sleeps on one leg and is always ready to wake up and start active actions. In the modern world, the stork is one of the unofficial symbols of Belarus. The stork is also used in the symbolism of Germany, and for the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo, the stork has become the official symbol.
The stork is a very large bird. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) has a height of 100-125 cm and a wingspan of up to two meters. The weight of large individuals of this species reaches 4 kg.
The population of storks, living in a temperate climate, moves south to Africa during the cold season. And this is about 10,000 km. Birds have acquired a number of features for this. The wide powerful wings of storks are capable of making up to two strokes per second, which allows them to reach a speed of 45 km. at one o'clock. They actively use ascending air currents for climbing and gliding. Storks during the flight for 10-15 minutes can switch to rest mode. In this state, the bird's heart rate drops to the same level as during sleep. (The pulse of storks during wakefulness is 270 beats per minute). Thanks to all these devices, storks are able to fly up to 200 km per day.
The stork sleeps standing on one leg. At the same time, the bird periodically, without waking up, completely reflexively changes its tired leg.
The back toe of the stork is not developed, and there is a membrane between the front toes. It helps the bird to move through swampy areas and shallow water with a silty bottom.
The long strong beak of the stork is perfectly adapted for obtaining food - small fish, amphibians, reptiles and large insects.
The white stork does not make loud sounds, this is caused by the underdevelopment of the vocal cords. Of course, they are quite capable of giving out a weak squeak or hiss, but they use a different method as communication. Wanting to attract a female or drive away an opponent from the nest, the male white stork makes loud noises by clicking its beak. At the same time, the position of the body in each of these cases is different, which allows you to create a sound of different tonality. Females and even chicks of the white stork also use this method of communication, but chicks with a soft beak do not get a loud click.
According to different sources, the life expectancy of storks is very different. On the one hand, many authors claim that storks live up to 20 years, on the other hand, up to 70 years.
White and black storks are not picky about food. But they also have their own preferences. The most predatory is the white stork, which eats small mammals (including gophers and hares) with pleasure, and on occasion catches small birds and destroys nests with chicks. There have been cases when a stork attacked a weasel or even an ermine.
In addition to mammals and birds, the diet of the white stork includes amphibians, reptiles and mollusks. The bird of prey eats even poisonous snakes such as the viper. White storks do not disdain insects, especially in the spring. At this time, the favorite food of birds is earthworms, leaf wasp larvae, bears and May beetles. The white stork also willingly eats locusts. True, most of the locusts are eaten by them during the winter in Africa.
White and black storks arrive at the nesting sites in late March - early April. Moreover, males are several days ahead of females.
Storks reach marriageable age by the age of three. The female differs from the male only in size.
Storks prefer to use the same nest year after year. The oldest nest of a white stork is considered to be a nest built in 1549 on one of the towers in East Germany. It was used until 1930.
Returning to the old nest, the male immediately begins to build and renovate it. Often, old nests reach enormous sizes and weights of several hundred kilograms. Not only storks themselves, but also small birds settle in such “apartments”.
The male white stork that occupies the nest vigilantly guards it from competitors. When approaching another male, he drives away the opponent, loudly clicking with his beak, and the sound of clicking and the posture of the male is fundamentally different from the behavior by which the female is called. If the opponent persists, then a fight may break out between the birds.
All storks are monogamous, but migratory species change partners. The male arriving at the nest waits for the first female to respond to his call. At the same time, it does not matter whether his last year's girlfriend is still alive. Often, a clash occurs between a late last year female and a new one that managed to occupy the nest before her, and the male stork does not interfere in the conflict in any way. The winner stays with him.
A stork has about 3-5 eggs in its clutch. Incubation occurs on average for about a month. Their chicks are born helpless, although covered with down. After that, for about another two months, the parents take care of the chicks. Moreover, parents not only feed the chicks, but also give them water, and on a hot day they pour water over them to prevent overheating.
Trial flights begin at the age of two months, but for another 15-20 days the children live in the nest and the parents continue to take care of their grown chicks. Complete independence in migratory species of storks occurs at an age of slightly more than 70 days.
In the future, the chicks live separately from their parents. Their independence comes to the point that adolescent white and Far Eastern storks go for wintering a month earlier than adults. They may, at the age of one or two, may not return to their nesting sites at all and remain in their wintering grounds all year round.
It has been noticed that white storks often throw weak and sick chicks out of their nests. Moreover, if the fallen chick is planted back, history will repeat itself. Most likely, this is how storks fight against overspending of food and protect healthy chicks from parasitic and infectious diseases.
The migration routes of storks are currently well understood. Western European storks fly through France, Spain and Gibraltar to Algeria and Morocco and on to wintering grounds in West Africa, or rather, to Senegal and Nigeria. Storks of Eastern Europe - along west coast Black Sea, over the Bosporus to Turkey and Syria, and further along the east coast mediterranean sea to the lower reaches of the Nile and through the countries of East Africa up to the southern part of the continent. They finally reach the wintering grounds by December, evenly distributed over the entire territory. The flight pattern is laid down genetically. If storks from Eastern Europe are transported to Western Europe, they will still move by the eastern route, although it will be more protracted. But this will only happen if the relocated individuals do not come into contact with the local ones. Young birds from another region who have entered the flock of local storks will follow the routes suggested by older storks, and will soon master a new migration route.
Unlike cranes, storks do not form a geometrically correct V-shaped wedge and fly in a relatively free group following the leader. In flight, the bird stretches its neck forward, and the beak is slightly lowered down.
Storks have practically no natural enemies. Only large eagles and crocodiles can attack a powerful bird. Therefore, the main danger to the population of storks of different species is a person.
At present, only the white stork has achieved relative population stability. The rest of the species are under the threat of extinction, who, because of their original small numbers and who because of the active influence of man. suffered from human impact black and Far Eastern stork.
But even the white stork at the beginning of the 21st century had no more than 150,000 breeding pairs. Moreover, now there is a constant reduction in the number of birds nesting in the countries of Western and Central Europe. The main livestock is located in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
In nature, large species of storks lead a solitary lifestyle, forming pairs during nesting. Nests are located at some distance from one another, and before the start of the mating season, males strictly monitor that competitors do not invade their living space.
Storks treat people differently. The white stork tries to settle closer to human habitation, preferring to place its nests on the roofs of village houses or old towers. The black stork, on the contrary, settles away from the person.
In home conditions, storks quickly get used to a person and easily make contact. It is better not to keep storks near pets of small sizes (rodents, and small birds), because birds may well try to eat other pets.
In relation to large poultry, storks behave calmly. Cases were mentioned when a stork living next to a person “grazed” and guarded his poultry, not allowing chickens to scatter around the yard.
Storks are not only beautiful and graceful, they are faithful helpers of man, destroying pests of agricultural plants. Certain species of storks, among other things, are sensitive indicators of the ecological situation. It has been noticed that if a stork lives and feeds on some reservoir, then the water there is clean. Now it depends only on the good will of people whether those times can return when storks lived in every village, delighting those around them with their beauty.

These feathered creatures have always amazed those around them with their amazing grace: a long flexible neck, impressive, thin legs that raise them high above the ground, meter and taller (although female individuals are slightly smaller than their males).

Stork – bird, having a conical shape, pointed, long and straight beak. The feather outfit of such winged creatures is not full of bright colors, it is white with black additions. True, in some species, black color prevails over white areas.

The wings are impressive in size, having a span of about two meters. The head and majestic neck have interesting - bare, completely featherless areas, covered only by skin of red, in some cases yellow and other shades, depending on the variety.

The legs are also bare, and the mesh cover of the skin on them is red. The fingers of birds, equipped with membranes, end in small claws of a pink hue.

Biologists refer to such birds as a group of storks, which is also called in another way: ankle-footed. And all its representatives are members of the vast stork family. It’s just a pity that for all their beauty, these representatives of the feathered kingdom do not have a pleasant voice, but communicate with each other, clicking their beaks and making hisses.

What bird is a stork: flight or not? It all depends on the area that such birds choose as a habitat. These graceful creatures are found in many areas of Eurasia. And with the onset of cold weather, they usually go to winter in African lands or in vast regions of India, famous for their wonderful climate.

It happens that storks choose favorable areas of southern Asia for resettlement. Those of them that settle on warmer continents, for example, in or South, do without winter flights.

Kinds

The genus of these birds includes about 12 species. Their representatives are similar in many ways. However, they are also endowed with differences, which consist in the size and color of the feather cover, but not only. They are also different in character, habits and attitude towards a person.

Distinctive features of the external appearance can be observed in the photo of storks.

Let's take a closer look at some of the varieties:

  • The white stork is one of the most numerous species. Adults can reach a height of 120 cm and a weight of approximately 4 kg. The color of their feathers is almost completely snow-white, while the beak and legs are red.

Only the feathers bordering the wings are black, therefore, when folded, they create the impression of darkness in the back of the body, for which such winged creatures in Ukraine received the nickname "Chernoguzes".

They nest in many regions of Eurasia. They are widespread in Belarus, even considered its symbol. For wintering, birds usually fly to African countries and India. To people White stork treats with confidence, and such representatives of the winged kingdom very often build their nests in the immediate vicinity of their homes.

White stork

  • The Far Eastern stork, sometimes also referred to as the Chinese and black-billed, refers to rare species and is protected in, as well as in Japan and China. Such birds nest on the Korean Peninsula, in Primorye and the Amur Region, in the eastern and northern regions of China, and in Mongolia.

They prefer wetlands, tending to stay away from people. With the onset of winter, birds go to more favorable areas, most often to the south of China, where they spend their days in swamps, as well as rice fields, where they easily find food for themselves.

These birds are larger than the white stork. Their beak is also much more massive and has a black color. Around the eyes, an attentive observer can notice red patches of bare skin.

The black beak distinguishes it from other relatives of the Far East.

  • Black stork- a species little studied, although numerous. Lives and settled in Africa. On the territory of Eurasia, it is distributed quite widely, especially in the reserves of Belarus, lives in abundance in the Primorsky Territory.

For wintering from unfavorable areas, birds can go to South Asia. Representatives of this species are somewhat smaller than relatives from the previously described varieties. They reach a weight of about 3 kg.

The shade of the feather of these birds, as the name implies, is black, but with a slightly noticeable copper or greenish tint. White in such birds is only the belly, undertail and lower chest. The eye area and beak are red.

Birds of this species nest in dense forests, most often near shallow reservoirs and swamps, in some cases in the mountains.

Black stork

  • The white-bellied stork is a small creature compared to its relatives. These are birds weighing only about a kilogram. They live mainly in Africa and live settled there.

They have white underwings and chest, which is a great contrast with the black feather of the rest of the body. And the latter became the reason for the name of the species. Hue stork beak this variety is gray-brown.

And in the mating season, the skin at the base of the beak becomes bright blue, which is a characteristic feature of such birds. They nest in trees and in rocky coastal areas. This happens during the rainy season, for which the representatives of the described species are nicknamed rain storks by the local population.

White-bellied stork is a small member of the family

  • The white-necked stork is found in various areas of Asia and Africa, taking root well in tropical forests. The growth of birds is usually no more than 90 cm. The background of the color is mostly black with a tinge of red, the wings have a greenish tint.

As you can understand from the name, the neck is white, but it looks like a black cap on the head.

The white-necked stork has a white downy plumage of the neck.

  • The American stork lives in the southern part of the continent indicated in the name of the species. These are not very large birds. In plumage color and appearance, they resemble a white stork, differing from it only in the shape of a forked black tail.

Elderly individuals are distinguished by a grayish-blue beak. Such birds nest near ponds in thickets of bushes. Their clutch consists of a very small number (most often about three pieces) of eggs, which is not enough in comparison with other varieties of stork relatives.

The newly born offspring are covered with white fluff, and only after three months the cubs become similar to adults in terms of color and structure of the feather.

Pictured is an American stork

  • Woolly-necked Malayan stork is a very rare, almost endangered species. Such birds live, in addition to the country indicated in the name, in Thailand, Sumatra, Indonesia, and other islands and countries similar in climate.

Usually they behave carefully, with extreme caution, hiding from human eyes. They have a special coal-colored feather, their faces are naked and covered with only orange skin, without plumage.

Around the eyes are yellow circles resembling glasses. Unlike many other species of storks, representatives of this species build small nests. In them, only two cubs grow from one masonry. After a month and a half of growth, the chicks of this species become completely independent.

Woolly-necked Malayan stork is the rarest of the family

Lifestyle and habitat

These birds choose meadow lowlands and swampy areas for life. Storks do not usually form large flocks, preferring to be alone or live in small groups. The exception is the wintering period, then the societies in which such birds gather can number up to several thousand individuals.

A curious fact is that during long flights, storks are even able to sleep in the air. At the same time, the breathing and pulse of these living beings becomes less frequent. But their hearing in this state only becomes more sensitive, which is necessary for birds in order not to get lost and not to fight off a flock of their relatives.

For the specified type of rest in flight, a quarter of an hour is enough for birds, after which they wake up, and their bodies return to normal.

During long flights, storks are able to fall asleep in flight without losing their “course”

When communicating with each other, storks are not characterized by sentiment, because these graceful, beautiful-looking birds beat sick and weakened relatives to death without any pity. Although from a practical point of view, such behavior is very reasonable and promotes healthy natural selection.

It is interesting that in the works of writers of antiquity and the Middle Ages stork often presented as the personification of caring for parents. There are legends that such birds touchingly care for elderly individuals when they lose the ability to take care of themselves.

Nutrition

Despite their beauty, storks turn out to be very dangerous for many living beings, because they are birds of prey. Frogs are considered their biggest delicacy. Like the heron stork-like bird even externally, they feed on many creatures living in water bodies, catching them in shallow water.

They love fish very much. Their varied diet also includes shellfish. In addition, storks love to feast on large insects, on land they catch lizards and snakes, even poisonous snakes. It is curious that these birds pose a serious threat to small mammals such as ground squirrels, moles, mice, and rats.

All of the above are also included in their diet. Storks can even eat rabbits.

These birds are extremely skilled hunters. It is important to walk back and forth on their long legs, they do not just walk, but track down the desired prey. When the prey appears in their field of vision, the birds run up to it with liveliness and dexterity and grab it with their strong long beak.

Such birds feed their cubs with half-digested burps, and when the offspring grows up a little, the parents throw raindrops right into their mouths.

Fish and frogs are the favorite delicacy of storks

Reproduction and lifespan

Stork nests of most of the common species build gigantic and wide, so much so that along the edges of them it is often possible to equip their chicks with such small birds as sparrows, starlings.

Such capacious structures serve for more than one year, often being passed on to subsequent generations. And these birds choose a place for building nestlings for a long time. A case is known that occurred in Germany, when white storks used one nest, twisted on a tower, for four centuries.

These are monogamous winged creatures, and the emerging family unions of such birds are not destroyed throughout their lives. Married couples, being faithful to each other, participate in the construction of nests, are engaged in incubation and rearing of offspring with enviable unanimity, sharing among themselves all the hardships of this process.

True, mating rituals, depending on the variety, are distinguished by features, as is the order in which the male chooses his companion. For example, it is customary for white stork cavaliers to choose the first female who flew up to his nest as his wife.

Further, the new mistress lays eggs in an amount of up to seven pieces. Then incubation lasts about a month, and up to two months - the period of raising chicks. Parents usually turn out to be cruel to sick and weak cubs, throwing them out of the nest without pity.

After 55 days from the moment of birth, the first flight of young animals usually occurs. And after a couple of weeks, the chicks become so mature that they are ready to exist on their own. The new generation is growing up by autumn, and then stork family breaks up.

Within a month, the chicks acquire plumage, and a month later they try their first flights.

Young growth, maturing purely physically, turns out to be ready to have its offspring at the age of approximately three years. And after a year or two, sometimes after three, they create their own family unions.

The life span of such birds in natural conditions reaches 20 years. However, in captivity, this period can be significantly increased with satisfactory care and maintenance.

A small group of ankle-footed birds that gave the name to the entire Stork order. In fact, the genus of storks has become widely known thanks to one species - the white stork, while the rest of its representatives are little known. The closest to real storks are razini storks and beaked storks. Besides, family ties these birds are traced with marabou, saddle bills and yabiru.

Far Eastern or black-billed stork (Ciconia boyciana).

The appearance of these birds is easily recognizable due to the characteristic long legs, neck and beak. The beak of real storks is straight and not too massive, in razin storks it looks more powerful, and its flaps are slightly curved, so they never close tightly. Because of the ever-open beak, they were called gapes. The wings of these birds are wide and strong, the tail is relatively short, bluntly cut. The legs are feathered only in the upper part, the fingers are free and not connected by membranes. In the coloration of all types of storks, there is only white and black in different proportions. The color of the paws and beak is black or red. The size of all species is approximately the same, these birds weigh 3-5 kg. Males and females are outwardly indistinguishable from each other.

African razin stork (Anastomus lamelligerus).

Storks live in the Old World, they reach the greatest diversity and abundance in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. The only species found in South America, - American stork. All southern species are sedentary and live in pairs or small groups consisting of several pairs nesting in the neighborhood. White, black and Far Eastern storks live in the temperate zone of Europe and Asia and are migratory. The white stork winters in Africa, the black stork in Africa and India, and the Far Eastern stork in China. Birds arrive at nesting sites in March-April, at first they stay in small flocks, and then break into pairs. Throughout the nesting period, nepotism persists, however, in feeding places, storks calmly endure the neighborhood of their own kind. By autumn, they gather in small flocks of 10-25 individuals, and in late August-early October they fly south. On wintering grounds, they form mass concentrations, here their flocks can number up to a thousand individuals.

The American stork (Ciconia maguari) has a bluish beak.

The flight of storks is moderately fast with strong wing beats. Although these birds feel confident in the air, they try to avoid unnecessary energy costs. During a long flight, they often switch to gliding with outstretched wings, and storks also try to avoid places with strong air currents, in particular, they never fly over the sea.

The nature of these birds is calm and friendly. They not only do not sort things out with each other, but also put up with other waterfowl and near-water birds (herons, for example). Almost all species of storks are voiceless, the means of communication for them is the loud clicking of their beak. The only sound-producing species is the black stork. His voice sounds like a quiet "chi-ling". Interestingly, the chicks of all species of storks are able to scream, their voices resemble a rough bass or a cat's meow.

The white-bellied stork (Ciconia abdimii) is the shortest-legged and short-billed species.

The habitats of storks are somehow connected with water. In most cases, birds prefer to nest in trees close to the shore. It happens that the nest itself is hidden in the thick of the forest, and birds fly to the reservoir only to feed. While searching for food, they roam in shallow water or at the water's edge. Storks never go deep into the water because they cannot swim. They also avoid dense thickets of reeds, impassable shrubs, but meadows with low grass are perfect for them.

Almost all species avoid proximity to humans and try to populate remote areas. The only exception to this rule is the white stork. He tolerates the neighborhood with people so well that he often settles on man-made structures. White stork nests can be seen on rooftops, bell towers, power poles, telegraph poles, water towers. If the design allows, then several pairs can arrange nests right next to each other.

A pair of black storks (Ciconia nigra) at the nest in the forest thicket. The plumage of these birds, like those of other dark-colored species, often casts green and purple.

Storks feed on a variety of small animals. Their diet consists of mollusks, worms, frogs, toads, small lizards and snakes, sometimes small fish. The method of hunting storks can be called active search. Unlike herons, they do not freeze in place in a fixed stance, but constantly walk along the feeding area. Seeing the prey, the stork sharply throws its neck forward, finishes it off with an energetic blow of the beak and immediately swallows it.

The black stork roams the shallow water in search of prey.

Storks are monogamous birds: the resulting pair remains faithful to each other throughout life. A bird can form a new pair only in the event of the death of the former partner.

Migratory species start nesting shortly after arrival. Stork nests are big piles branches with a compacted tray in the middle. The construction of the nest is quite strong, so the birds try to occupy old nests, periodically updating them. Often, after the parents, the nest is “inherited” by one of their chicks. The record-breaking case of continuous nest exploitation is recorded in Germany, where birds used it from 1549 to 1930. Harmless freeloaders - sparrows and similar small birds often settle in the bulky nests of storks.

The mating ritual of Far Eastern storks - male and female, throwing their heads back, click their beaks.

In the clutch of these birds, there are from 2 to 5 white eggs. Incubation begins after the laying of the first or second egg, so the entire brood hatches over several days. The incubation period lasts 33-34 days, both parents participate in incubation. Stork chicks hatch covered in light gray down and grow quickly. Parents take turns bringing them food and water in their beaks. Breeding success largely depends on forage conditions; in low-feed years, younger chicks often die, which get less food. The first month and a half, the chicks spend in the nest, then they fledge and begin to travel along the branches of the tree, and then wander around with their parents.

White storks (Ciconia ciconia) at the nest with chicks.

In nature, storks do not have so many enemies: their relatively large size protects them from attack by birds of prey, and nesting in trees from land-based predators.

In the past, these meek and faithful birds enjoyed universal love. Storks personified happiness and family well-being. According to legend, the nest of storks on the roof of the house meant prosperity and peace, and the birds themselves were the messengers of motherhood. Nevertheless, now the number of species living in the temperate zone is constantly declining. This is due to the reduction of natural habitats (drainage of swamps, pollution of water bodies), a disturbance factor. In the white stork, cases of death of chicks and adult birds on power lines are not uncommon. The Far Eastern stork, listed in the International Red Book, is extremely rare, the number of black stork avoiding the neighborhood with humans is small (it is also listed in the national Red Books), and even the white stork is reducing its range. To protect these birds, it is enough just to provide them with fodder lands (ponds, meadows) and attract them with convenient nesting sites.

A small colony of white storks on an old bell tower.

General characteristics and field signs

Large bird with long legs, neck and beak. Body length 100-115 cm, wingspan 155-165 cm, weight of an adult bird from 2.5 to 4.5 kg. Males are slightly larger than females, but outwardly they are almost indistinguishable. The plumage is white, the flight feathers are black. Beak and legs are red. When observing a flying bird, attention is drawn to the elongated neck and legs, contrasting black and white plumage. Walks on the ground, slightly shaking his head in time with the movement. On nests or perches, it can stand on one leg for a long time, pulling its neck into the plumage of the body. Often uses a soaring flight, with almost no wing flapping, it is able to rise in ascending air currents. With a sharp decline and landing - a little presses the wings to the body and puts the legs forward. Flocks form during migration, they are also formed by non-breeding birds during migrations in late spring and summer. There is no strict order in flying flocks. When descending from the updraft, the birds slide down one by one. It differs from the black stork by its white plumage, from cranes and herons by the red color of its beak and legs. Unlike herons, in flight it stretches rather than folds its neck.

Voice. The basis of the sound communication of white storks is beak crackling. Occasionally a hiss can be heard. The sound repertoire of chicks is more diverse. The cry of a stork begging for food resembles a drawn-out meow. The first part of this cry has a higher pitch, the second one has a lower one. In chicks on the nest, you can also hear a loud squeak and hiss; already in the first weeks of life, the chicks try to crack their beak.

Description

Coloring. Adult male and female. There are no seasonal differences in color. Most of the plumage is white, primary feathers, outer secondary, shoulder and part of forearm coverts are black with a metallic sheen. The outer webs of secondaries have grayish margins along the trunk (character varies, usually visible only at close range). The feathers on the neck and chest are somewhat elongated; excited birds (for example, during mating) often fluff them. Beak and legs are bright red. The naked skin around the eye and the front of the skin of the chin are black. The iris of the eye is brown.

First down outfit. After hatching, the chick is covered with sparse and short grayish-white down. The legs are pinkish, becoming greyish-black after a few days. The beak and skin around the eyes are black, the skin on the chin is reddish, the iris is dark. The second down outfit. The down is pure white, thicker and longer. Replaces the first one in about a week.

Nest outfit. A young bird is similar in color to an adult, but the black color in plumage is replaced by brownish, without shine. The beak and legs are dark brown; by the time the chicks leave the nests, they usually become reddish-brown, but it is not uncommon to see flying fledglings with a black beak or brown with a blackish top. The iris of the eye is grey.

Structure and dimensions

As a rule, measurements are published various parts bodies of storks without dividing the sample into sex groups. The wing length of the nominative subspecies of the white stork with this approach for the territory of the former. The USSR is, for 6 individuals, 585-605 mm (Spangenberg, 1951), for Ukraine (Smogorzhevsky, 1979) - 534-574 mm. The last author also reports that the length of the tail ranges from 206-232 mm, the beak -156-195, and the tarsus - 193-227 mm. Revision of the collections of the Kyiv Zoom Museum national university and the National Natural History Museum of Ukraine gave the following results: wing length (n = 14) - 513-587 mm, with an average value of 559.9±5.8 mm; tail (n = 11) - 201-232, on average 222.5±4.2; beak (n = 12) - 150-192, on average 166.4±3.5; tarsals (n = 14) - 187-217, on average 201.4 ± 2.5 mm (original). For the Asian white stork, the wing length for 9 measured individuals turned out to be 550-640, with an average of 589 mm.

The sizes of the white stork by sex groups and subspecies for different territories are given in Table. 31.

Table 31. Sizes (mm) of various sex groups and subspecies of the white stork
Parameter males females A source
nlimMnlimM
Ciconia ciconia ciconia. Europe
Wing length— 530-630 — — 530-590 — Witherby et al., 1939
tail length— 215-240 — — 215-240 — Witherby et al., 1939
Beak length— 150-190 — — 140-170 — Witherby et al., 1939
Lantern length— 195-240 — — 195-240 — Witherby et al., 1939
Wing length18 556-598 576 15 543-582 558 Hancock et al., 1992
tail length18 221-268 247 15 218-256 237 Hancock et al., 1992
Beak length18 157-198 179 15 155-180 164 Hancock et al., 1992
Lantern length18 191-230 214 15 184-211 197 Hancock et al., 1992
Ciconia ciconia asiatica. middle Asia
Wing length18 581-615 596 9 548-596 577 Hancock et al., 1992
Beak length18 188-223 204 9 178-196 187 Hancock et al., 1992
Lantern length18 213-247 234 9 211-234 220 Hancock et al., 1992

The formula of the wing (excluding the rudimentary first flywheel) is IV?III?V-I-VI... The outer webs of the II and IV primary feathers have clippings. The tail is slightly rounded, there are 12 tail feathers. The beak is long, straight, tapering towards the top. Nostrils long, slit-like. The weight of 41 males from Vost. Prussia 2 900-4 400 g (average 3 571), 27 females - 2 700-3 900 g (3 325). Weight increases slightly during the summer. The average weight of 14 males in June is 3341 g, 14 females - 3150 g; in July-August, 12 males weighed an average of 3970 g, 12 females - 3521 g (Steinbacher, 1936).

The male, therefore, is somewhat larger than the female, has a longer and more massive beak. In addition, the bill of the male has a slightly different shape: the mandible is slightly curved upwards in front of the apex, while the bill of the female is straight (Bauer and Glutz von Blotzheim, 1966; Creutz, 1988). The sex of 67% of birds can be determined from the length of the beak with an error probability of no more than 5% (Post et al., 1991). Individual recognition of birds by the pattern of a black spot on the chin is also possible (Fangrath and Helb, 2005).

Moult

Not studied enough. In young birds, the complete post-juvenile molt begins, depending on the circumstances, from December to May of the first year of life. In adult birds, a complete molt takes up most of the year. Primaries alternate in irregular sequence throughout the nesting period, some in winter (Stresemann and Stresemann, 1966).

The molting of flight feathers was traced in more detail on 5 storks kept in a nursery in Switzerland (Bloesch et al., 1977). The feather grows at a linear rate. Primary flywheels grow 8-9 mm per day, secondary - 6.5-6.9 mm. It takes from 50-55 to 65-75 days to replace the fly feather. In the birds under observation, 6 primary primaries and 13 secondary primaries on both wings were replaced per year. The duration of wearing different feathers is different; for primary primaries, it ranged from 1.2 to 2.5 years. The change of feathers is stepwise. In primary primaries, it starts from XI, in secondary ones, from several points. Moulting cycles begin from the second year of life, their final course is established only by 4-5 years. During the first or third molt, the change of feathers began in March-April, then in mid-May and continued until early November. Most of the feathers were replaced during the summer months between incubation and departure.

The combination of molting and nesting may be due to the fact that the load on the wings of the white stork at this time is much less than during a long migration or nomadic life on wintering grounds (Creutz, 1988).

Subspecies taxonomy

There are 2 subspecies, differing in size and shape of the beak:

1.Cicortia cicottia ciconia

Ardea ciconia Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 142, Sweden.

Smaller form. The length of the wing of males is 545-600 mm, the length of the tarsus is 188-226 mm, the length of the beak is 150-200 mm. The beak is less sharply sloping towards the apex (Stepanyan, 2003). Distributed in Europe, North. Africa, Zap. Asia.

2. Ciconia ciconia asiatica

Ciconia alba asiatica Severtzov, 1873, Izv. Imp. islands of lovers of natural science, anthropology and ethnography, 8, no. 2, p. 145, Turkestan.

Larger form. The length of the wing of males is 580-630 mm, the length of the tarsus is 200-240 mm, the length of the beak is 184-235 mm. The beak, especially the mandible, is more sharply sloping towards the apex (Stepanyan, 2003). It lives on the territory of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Notes on systematics

Previously, the Far Eastern stork (Ciconia boyciana) was considered a subspecies of the white stork, but at present it is considered by most taxonomists as an independent species. Special studies have shown significant morphological and behavioral differences sufficient to separate the species (Hancock et al., 1992). The subspecies belonging of the population of the white stork from Transcaucasia requires special study.

Spreading

Nesting area. Europe, North-West. Africa, Zap. and Central Asia (Fig. 78).

Figure 78.
a - nesting area, b - wintering areas, c - main directions of autumn migration, d - directions of expansion.

The European subspecies is distributed over most of Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the Volga region and Transcaucasia. To the north, its range reaches Denmark, South. Sweden, Estonia, northwest Russia. In France, storks live only in a few provinces, so nesting sites in Spain, Portugal, Zap. France and North-West. Africa are cut off from the main European range. However, in connection with the ongoing resettlement, it is quite likely that these two parts of the range will merge. In the North-West. Africa, the white stork breeds in Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia. In Zap. Asia - in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Iran, in Transcaucasia - in the south of Georgia, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, as well as in the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation. Breeding cases are also known at wintering grounds in Yuzh. Africa (Broekhuysen, 1965, 1971; Broekhuysen and Uys, 1966; Hancock et al., 1992). In 2004, an attempt was made to nest in the north-east of England in the county of Yorkshire. This is the first time the white stork has bred in Britain since 1416, when the birds nested on Edinburgh Cathedral.

In Russia, the white stork has long inhabited the territory of the Kaliningrad region. In other areas, it appeared relatively recently, expanding its nesting range to the east and northeast. The first cases of nesting in the modern borders of the Leningrad and Moscow regions. noted at the end of the 19th century. (Malchevsky and Pukinsky, 1983; Zubakin et al., 1992). By the beginning of the XX century. the white stork began to nest in the Pskov, Tver and Kaluga regions. (Zarudny, 1910; Filatov, 1915; Bianchi, 1922). By this time, it was already quite common in the western regions of Smolensk (Grave, 1912, 1926) and the southern part of the Bryansk region. (Fedosov, 1959). Settling into new territories had a wave-like character. Especially intensive development of new areas was noted in the 1970s-1990s. At present, on the territory of Russia, the northern and eastern border of the regular nesting of the Eastern European population can be conditionally drawn along the line St. Petersburg - Volkhov - Tikhvin - Yaroslavl - Lipetsk - Voronezh - the border of the Rostov Region. and Ukraine (Fig. 79).

Figure 79
a - regular nesting, b - insufficiently clarified border of the nesting range, c - irregular nesting. Subspecies: 1 - S. s. ciconia, 2 - C. s. asiatica.

Periodic evictions of individual couples were noted far beyond the indicated border: in Yuzh. Karelia, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Perm, Ulyanovsk, Penza, Saratov, Volgograd and Rostov regions, Krasnodar region (Lapshin, 1997, 2000; Bakka et al., 2000; Borodin, 2000; Dylyuk, Galchenkov, 2000; Karyakin, 2000; Komlev, 2000; Mnatsekanov, 2000; Piskunov and Belyachenko, 2000; Sotnikov, 2000; Frolov et al., 2000; Chernobay, 2000a and others). The West Asian population of the nominative subspecies is common in the Tersko-Sulak lowland of Dagestan (Babayurtovsky, Khasavyurtovsky, Kizlyarsky, Tarumovsky districts), periodically nests appeared outside Dagestan - in the Stavropol Territory, Karachay-Cherkessia, Proletarsky District of the Rostov Region. (Khokhlov, 1988a; Bicherev and Skiba, 1990). White storks were also registered in the foothills of the North. Ossetia (Komarov, 1986). Rostov oblast, obviously, is a territory where East European and West Asian populations practically converge from different directions. The first penetrates here from the north along the Don and from the west - from Ukraine, the second - from the southeast along the Kumo-Manychka depression. Confirmation of the last, the most poorly understood direction of bird movement, can serve as a meeting on May 13, 1996 in the area of ​​Lake. Dadinskoye, in the extreme northeast of the Stavropol Territory, flocks of 18 birds migrating at high altitude in a northwestern direction (Dylyuk, Galchenkov, 2000).

In Ukraine, the modern boundary of the range passes through the North. and North-East. Crimea, southern parts of Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions, Lugansk region. (Grishchenko, 2005). In 2006, the first white stork nesting was recorded in the southeast of Crimea near Feodosia (M.M. Beskaravainy, pers. comm.).

The Turkestan white stork is distributed in Central Asia - in the southeast of Uzbekistan, in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, in the south of Kazakhstan. Previously, the range reached Chardzhou in Turkmenistan, the lower reaches of the Amu-Darya; cases of nesting were also noted in the west of China - in Kashgaria (Spangenberg, 1951; Dolgushin, 1960; Sagitov, 1987; Shernazarov et al., 1992). Occasionally, nesting attempts - obviously, already a European subspecies - are noted in the southeast of Turkmenistan (Belousov, 1990).

A small nesting center of the white stork (about 10 pairs) arose in the extreme south of Africa. Birds start nesting here in September-November - at the time of arrival for wintering of storks of northern populations (del Hoyo et al., 1992). As in the case of the black stork, this micropopulation originates from migrants who, for some reason, began to breed on wintering grounds.

wintering

The main wintering grounds for the western population of the European subspecies are the sub-Saharan savannas from Senegal in the west to Cameroon in the east. The most important places of concentration of wintering birds are the valleys of the rivers Senegal, Niger and the area of ​​Lake. Chad. Storks also winter here, nesting in northwestern Africa. The eastern population winters in Vost. and Yuzh. Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia to South Africa. Most of the birds spend the winter months in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Storks from Zap. Asians winter partly in Africa, partly in southern Asia. The Asian subspecies winters mainly in India south to Sri Lanka. To the east, these birds can be found as far as Thailand (Schulz, 1988, 1998; Ash, 1989; Hancock et al., 1992). In India, the main wintering grounds for storks are the states of Bihar in the northeast and Gujarat in the west (Majumdar, 1989). Interestingly, birds ringed in Europe have also been found in India (Lebedeva, 1979a). Apparently, these are storks that have gone astray in the Iskander Bay area - they did not turn south, but continued to migrate to the southeast.

Some birds winter in the southern part of their breeding range. In Spain during the winter seasons of 1991 and 1992. in the delta About 3,000 individuals were counted in the Guadalquivir and on the coast of Andalusia (Tortosa et al., 1995). In Portugal in the winter of 1994/95. 1,187 storks wintered (Rosa et al., 1999). Thousands of storks stay in Israel for the winter (Schulz, 1998). In Armenia, hundreds of birds winter in the Araks valley every year (Adamyan, 1990). In Bulgaria, storks remained for the winter at the end of the 19th century, now their number has increased significantly. Flocks of up to 10 individuals are noted (Nankinov, 1994). Wintering cases are also known in more northern latitudes - in Ukraine (Grishchenko, 1992), in the Czech Republic (Tichy, 1996), Germany, and Denmark (Schulz, 1998). On the territory of Russia, wintering of white storks was noted in Dagestan (T.K. Umakhanova, V.F. Mamataeva, pers. comm.). In Central Asia, storks winter in small numbers in the Ferghana Valley (Tretyakov, 1974, 1990). Here in the area of ​​Pungan - Urgench in the winter months of 1989, up to 250 birds were recorded. It is believed that the partial settlement of white storks in the Fergana Valley contributed to the overall increase in their number in the region. Winterings, which are irregular in nature, were observed in the Syr-Darya valley and on the river. Panj to Yuzh. Tajikistan (Mitropolsky, 2007).

Ringed in the former In the USSR, white storks were found wintering mainly in South Africa, some birds - in Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Zap. Africa (Lebedeva, 1979; Smogorzhevsky, 1979).

As established by X. Schulz (Schulz, 1988), the distribution of storks on wintering grounds in Africa is determined primarily by food supplies. First of all, birds choose wet biotopes, but they can also stay in arid places rich in food. Large flocks are found even in deserts and mountains. In Lesotho, in 1987, a flock of 200 storks was discovered at an altitude of approx. 2000 m. Birds fed on reservoirs abounding with amphibians. In places rich in food, storks can accumulate in large numbers. In January 1987, about 100 thousand individuals were counted in Tanzania on a plot of 25 km2. The birds fed on alfalfa fields, where the caterpillars of one of the local butterflies bred en masse. In Yuzh. In Africa, white storks were almost never seen this season.

Based on the results of ringing and satellite telemetry, it was established that the wintering areas of the western and eastern populations are not isolated from each other. To the Center. In Africa, there is a zone of mixed wintering, where birds from both populations are found. Here, individuals from one population may be carried away by flocks of storks from another population and return in spring by a different route and to other nesting sites (Berthold et al., 1997; Brouwer et al., 2003).

Migrations

The white stork is a long-distance migrant. Birds from the northeastern part of the range fly over 10,000 km. There are two main geographical populations of the European subspecies, differing in migration routes and wintering areas. The dividing line between them passes through Holland, the Harz, Bavaria, the Alps (Schuz, 1953, 1962; Creutz, 1988; Schulz, 1988, 1998). Birds nesting to the west of it migrate southwest in autumn through France, Spain, Gibraltar. Further, the flight goes through Morocco, Mauritania, the western part of the Sahara. These birds winter in the West. Africa. Storks nesting east of this dividing line fly in the southeast direction in autumn, and from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states - in a southerly direction. Three main flyways pass through the territory of Ukraine in autumn, which merge into a powerful migration flow that passes along the western coast of the Black Sea (Gryshchenko and Serebryakov, 1992; Grischtschenko et al., 1995). Further, storks fly through the Balkans and Turkey, through the Bosphorus, Asia Minor. From Iskander they go to the Mediterranean coast, where they turn south again and migrate in a narrow stream through Lebanon, Israel, the Sinai Peninsula to the Nile Valley. Along this river and the Rift Valley, there is further migration to the main wintering grounds in Vost. and Yuzh. Africa. In Vost. Sudanese storks make a long stop for 4-6 weeks and feed intensively to replenish fat reserves to continue their migration (Schulz, 1988, 1998).

The stork, like a terrestrial soarer, avoids long flight over the sea, so migratory flows are formed along the coasts. Storks from the western, northern and central regions of Ukraine migrate along the western coast of the Black Sea and through the Bosporus, and birds from the East. Ukraine fly southeast to the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Storks from the eastern part of their range in Russia also fly here. Some of the storks, although insignificant, still fly directly across the sea. There is an "intermediate" flyway through Italy and Sicily to Tunisia. In 1990-1992 1,378 migrating storks were recorded at Cape Bon in Tunisia and 67 near Messina in Sicily (Kisling and Horst, 1999). It is assumed that birds from both western and eastern populations use this route (Schulz, 1998). An individual ringed in Latvia was discovered in September near Naples (Lebedeva, 1979). And one stork with a satellite transmitter flew across the Mediterranean directly from St. Tropez in France to Tunisia; the distance across the sea was at least 752 km (Chemetsov et al., 2005). Perhaps some of the storks fly across the Black Sea, crossing the Crimea.

Migrations of storks from Transcaucasia, Iraq and Iran have not been studied enough. It is assumed that they fly southeast to Yuzh. Asia (Schtiz, 1963; Schulz, 1998). A bird ringed in Armenia was found in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 160 km to the southeast (Lebedeva, 1979). The dividing line between populations migrating to Africa and Asia is not yet known. Apparently, it takes place somewhere in the east of Turkey. At least in this region, flocks of birds migrating both to the southeast and to the west are observed in autumn (Schtiz, 1963).

Turkestan storks migrate south through Afghanistan to India in autumn, crossing the Hindu Kush via the Salang Pass (Schtiz, 1963; Schulz, 1998). Ringed storks in Uzbekistan were harvested in the spring in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Lebedeva, 1979).

An analysis of satellite tracking of 140 German storks showed that the paths and dates of migration, wintering and stopping places can change in these birds within a fairly wide range, but, if possible, they remain constant. Changes are caused by natural factors, primarily feeding conditions (Berthold et al., 2004). The timing of departure from wintering places depends on the meteorological situation. At adverse conditions birds may linger. Thus, in the extremely unfavorable year 1997, storks started from their wintering grounds a month later than usual (Kosarev, 2006). Added to this was a delay due to prolonged cold weather in the Middle East. Storks equipped with transmitters made long stops in Syria and Turkey. A return migration has been noted (Kaatz, 1999). As a result, in 1997, only 20% of birds from the eastern population arrived at normal times, the majority - with a delay of 4-6 weeks (Schulz, 1998).

From wintering places, mass movement in the opposite direction occurs at the end of January or in February. In Israel, the beginning of the spring migration of adult birds becomes noticeable in mid-February, the peak of passage falls on the second half of March, especially noticeable movements end at the end of April; young birds migrate through Israel in April-May (van den Bossche et al., 2002). In the nesting areas in northern Africa, storks appear as early as December-February. The peak of flying over Gibraltar is noted in February-March, over the Bosphorus - from the end of March to the end of April (Schulz, 1998).

In Moldova, arriving storks have been observed since the first decade of March (Averin et al., 1971). On the territory of Ukraine, arrivals are registered from the first days of March to the second half of April, the average dates of arrival fall on the third decade of March - the beginning of April. First of all, birds appear in the Lviv and Chernivtsi regions, flying around the Carpathians; then migration goes in two streams: some birds fly to the northeast, others - to the east along southern regions Ukraine. Storks appear later than anything else in the eastern regions and in the Crimea (Grishchenko and Serebryakov, 1992; Grischtschenko et al., 1995). In the north of the Sumy region. arrival was recorded from March 18 to April 26, the average date for 16 years is March 30 (Afanasiev, 1998). In the south-west of Belarus, the arrival of storks is noted in the third decade of March - the first half of April (Shokalo, Shokalo, 1992). Storks nesting in the European part of Russia reach their homeland in early March - the first half of May. On the territory of the Kaliningrad region. in the first half of the 20th century. the first birds appeared on the nests between March 19 and April 12 (data for 23 years, Tischler, 1941). In the 1970s the arrival of storks took place from the beginning of March (Belyakov, Yakovchik, 1980). In 1990, the first birds on nests in the Kaliningrad region. recorded March 18 (Grishanov, Savchuk, 1992). In the Sebezhsky district of the Pskov region. arrival was observed at the end of March-the first decade of April (Fetisov et al., 1986). For the period from 1989 to 1999. the earliest registration in the Kaluga region. recorded March 20 (1990), the latest - April 8 (1991 and 1997), on average March 30. In some years, the earliest birds appear in the spring when the snow cover height in the fields is 30-40 cm. falls on the second five days of April (1990-1999) (Galchenkov, 2000). In the Voronezh region the first storks were observed at the same time: from March 19 to April 8, on average March 30 (1995-1998) (Numerov, Makagonova, 2000). Storks arrive at the northeastern border of their range 2-4 weeks later. In the Yaroslavl region birds arrived on April 22-26 (1994), April 16 (1996), May 2 (1995) (Golubev, 2000). AT eastern regions Leningrad region the earliest arrival was recorded on April 20, 1999 (Tikhvinsky district), the usual dates are from May 1 to May 8 (1983-1999) (Hrabry, 2000). In the southern regions of Karelia, the first birds appear in late April - mid-May; in the very early spring of 1990, a solitary bird was seen at the beginning of the second decade of April (Lapshin, 2000). In the Kirov region the earliest record of a white stork is April 17, 1992 (Sotnikov, 2000). On the Black Sea coast of Sev. Caucasus, spring migration is observed from the first decade of March to the second half of April, in the Rostov region. and Krasnodar Territory, the first birds were recorded in April (Kazakov et al., 2004). In Dagestan, the first individuals appear in early and mid-March (Mamataeva and Umakhanova, 2000).

The appearance of white storks in spring in Central Asia occurs at the end of February - beginning of March, and is observed almost simultaneously in most of the territory (Dementiev, 1952; Mitropolsky, 2007). At the Chokpak Pass they were registered on March 11-14, 1974 (Gavrilov, Gistsov, 1985), an intensive passage was noted on March 24 (Sema, 1989).

In the Kaluga region in 69% of cases, the arrival of the white stork proceeded according to the 1 + 1 scheme: first, one bird from a pair arrived, and some time after it, the second. The first individual appears from March 20 to May 18, on average (n = 176) - on April 10, the second - from March 25 to May 26, on average (n = 150) - on April 14. The delay of the second bird occurs in the range from several hours to 31 days, on average, by 4 days. In the specified arrival pattern, there are rare variants: at the first, each of the individuals of the pair flies up with one or two other birds, which do not remain on the nest, but fly further; at the second, a couple flies to a single stork and drives it out. In 31% of cases, two birds flew to the nest at once.

Breeding birds of the Eastern European population leave in August. Juveniles usually leave earlier than adult birds. In the Kaluga region the young left the nests starting from August 8, more often in the second decade of this month. Adult birds leave their homeland later, the departure of the last individuals ends on average on August 30 (1985-1999) (Galchenkov, 2000). In the Tver region storks fly away on August 28 - September 5 (Nikolaev, 2000). In the Yaroslavl region the birds flew away on August 23 (1996) and August 29 (1995) (Golubev, 2000). Individuals and pairs linger until September - October. In the southwestern regions of Russia, before departure, they form clusters of tens and up to 100 or more individuals, as, for example, in the Smolensk region. (Bicherev and Barnev, 1998). On Sev. In the Caucasus, autumn migration is observed from the first half of August to the end of September (Kazakov et al., 2004). The migration routes and wintering areas of Dagestan storks have not been clarified: it is known that the last of them leave the nesting area from October 25 to November 10, sometimes lingering until the middle or end of this month (November 25, 2003 and November 15, 2004). Most likely storks , nesting in the Tersko-Sunzhenskaya lowland, follow along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, where birds of this species were noted on October 23, 1998 near the city of Kaspiysk (E.V. Vilkov, pers. comm.).

In Moldova, departure begins at the end of August and continues until mid-September. Individual birds may linger until the first half of October. The latest meeting is November 9, 1964 (Averin, Ganya, Uspensky, 1971). In Ukraine, the first migratory flocks are observed from the first ten days of August to September and early October. The average departure dates are in the third decade of August - the first decade of September. First of all, the flight begins in the Lvov, Zhytomyr and Poltava regions. The last birds were observed from the second half of August to October. The average dates of the last observation in most regions of Ukraine fall on the first and second decades of September. The longest storks linger in the Zaporozhye region. and in the Crimea (Grishchenko and Serebryakov, 1992; Grischtschenko et al., 1995). Some late individuals may also be observed in November. Sometimes you can meet whole flocks very late. So, on December 4, 1985, a flock of several dozen storks was observed over Ivano-Frankivsk (Shtyrkalo, 1990). On November 5, 1997, a flock of 40 individuals was seen over Brest (Shokalo, Shokalo, 1992). The passage along the eastern coast of the Black Sea was recorded from August 29 to October 4 (Abuladze, Eligulashvili, 1986).

Central Asian storks fly from late August to mid-October (Dolgushin, 1960; Tretyakov, 1990).

Flight of three young storks marked on nests in Zelenogradsky and Guryevsky districts of the Kaliningrad region. satellite transmitters, was tracked in 2000. One bird left for wintering on August 10, the other two - on the 14th. The flyway passed through northeastern Poland, the extreme southwest of Belarus, the western part of Ukraine, the east of Romania and Bulgaria, then through the Bosphorus, Turkey, Palestine, and the Sinai Peninsula. The storks reached the Bosphorus Strait on August 23, 25 and 26, respectively, i.e. 13, 11 and 12 days after the start of migration. There were storks at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula on August 29, 31, and September 1, respectively (19, 17, and 18 days after the start of migration, or 6 days after each bird crossed the Bosphorus); here the storks stopped. The storks then proceeded along the Nile Valley in continental Egypt. The rapid movement to the south of the birds stopped on 6, 7 and 10 September, by this time two of them were in the center. Sudan, one in eastern Chad near the Sudanese border (Chemetsov et al., 2004).

During autumn migrations, according to telemetry data, the average length of daily movements of storks of the eastern population is: in Europe - 218 km (for adult birds from 52 to 504, for young birds - from 51 to 475 km), in the Middle East - 275 km (for adult birds from 52 to 490, for young people - from 55 to 408 km), in the North. Africa - 288 km (for adult birds from 70 to 503, for young birds - from 108 to 403 km) (van den Bossche et al., 1999).

A comprehensive study of the migrations of the white stork showed that this species, at least in its eastern population, has a very special type of migration, not yet known for other birds. It is characterized by a very fast flight from nesting sites to a resting area in Vost. Africa. A distance of 4,600 km, both adults and young birds overcome an average of 18-19 days. Under normal conditions, storks fly every day, spending 8-10 hours on the way. Long, especially many-day stops occur only as an exception and are primarily associated with adverse weather conditions. In storks, unlike others migratory birds, fat reserves during migration are negligible. There is no noticeable hyperphagia during the flight. Storks practically do not regain weight all the way to Africa (Berthold et al., 2001).

Most immature storks spend the summer months away from nesting sites. After the first wintering, the birds migrate towards the nesting area, but very rarely reach it. Only a third of one-year-old storks were found closer than 1000 km from the place of ringing. With age, the proportion of "defectors" is rapidly decreasing. A significant part of 1-2-year-old storks spend their summers south of the Sahara, but 3-year-old birds are not found there at all during the nesting period. Ringing has shown that in most cases storks first appear at nesting sites at 3 years of age (Libbert, 1954; Kania, 1985; Bairlein, 1992).

Migratory storks can be found much to the north and east of the border of the nesting range. In Russia, they were noted on the coast of the White Sea in the Murmansk region. (Kokhanov, 1987), near s. Kholmogory in the Arkhangelsk region. (Pleshak, 1987), in Bashkiria (Karyakin, 1998a), Tatarstan (Askeev, Askeev, 1999), Perm region. (Demidova, 1997; Karyakin, 19986), Sverdlovsk region. (Zelentsov, 1995), in the steppes of Yuzh. Ural (Davygora, 2006). According to insufficiently reliable data, two birds were observed in August in the Kurgan region. (Tarasov et al., 2003). Flights of white storks are also recorded in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, Ireland, and Iceland (Hancock et al., 1992; Birina, 2003). During migration, real invasions can occur when large flocks are far from the main flyways. So, on September 15, 1984, a flock of 3,000 storks appeared near the city of Abu Dhabi in the east of the Arabian Peninsula (Reza Khan, 1989). On August 27-29, 2000, an accumulation of 300-400 individuals kept in the valley of the river. Teberda to the North. Caucasus (Polivanov et al., 2001). Sometimes migratory flocks of storks are carried by the wind far into the sea. Such birds have been observed even in the Seychelles, which lie over 1,000 km from the African coast (Stork, 1999).

habitat

The white stork is a typical inhabitant of open landscapes; avoids continuous forests and overgrown swamps. Prefers areas with wet biotopes - meadows, swamps, pastures, irrigated lands, rice fields, etc. It is also found in the steppes and savannahs with single large trees or human structures. The optimal biotope in our conditions are vast floodplains with normal hydro regime and extensive agricultural use. In such places, the population density can reach tens of pairs per 100 km2. Inhabits, as a rule, flat territories, but can also nest low in mountains with suitable conditions.

To the Center. In Europe, white storks rarely nest above 500 m a.s.l. m (Schulz, 1998). In the Carpathians, they rise to 700-900 m (Smogorzhevsky, 1979; Rejman, 1989; Stollmann, 1989), in Armenia and Georgia - up to 2,000 m a.s.l. (Adamyan, 1990; Gavashelishvili, 1999), in Turkey up to 2300 m (Creutz, 1988), and in Morocco even up to 2500 m a.s.l. (Sauter and Schiiz, 1954). In Bulgaria, 78.8% of stork pairs nest at altitudes between 50 and 499 m a.s.l. and only 0.2% - from 1000 to 1300 m (Petrov et al., 1999). In Poland, the dispersal of storks to higher altitudes during population growth has been noted (Tryjanowski et al., 2005). The white stork prefers to feed in open areas with low grassy vegetation, in shallow water of stagnant and slow-flowing reservoirs. Less common on the coast major rivers, mountain streams. Arable land and intensively cultivated meadows and fields of perennial grasses are also used by storks for feeding, but the favorable period for gathering food in such places is very short - immediately after plowing or harvesting.

Stork nests are found on the periphery of the colonies of herons and other legged birds. But most often it nests in settlements. Can settle even among dense buildings in big cities, from where he has to fly for food for 2-3 km. abandoned by people the white stork usually leaves the village with time. So, these birds stopped nesting in most of the evicted villages of the Chernobyl zone (Samusenko, 2000; Gashek, 2002).

During migration, the white stork also prefers open landscape; it tries to fly around large areas of water and forests, since, in our opinion, flying over them with a specialized hover requires more energy.

population

The total number of white storks according to the results of the V International census in 1994-1995. can be estimated at least at 170-180 thousand pairs, of which the eastern population accounts for 140-150 thousand pairs (Grishchenko, 2000). Compared to the previous census in 1984, the total population has grown by 23%. Moreover, the number of the western population increased significantly more - by 75%, the eastern one - by 15% (Schulz, 1999). The largest number white stork noted in Poland. In 1995, about 40,900 pairs were recorded there, 34% more than in 1984. The average breeding density in Poland is 13.1 pairs/100 km2 (Guziak and Jakubiec, 1999). In Spain, where the bulk of the western population breeds, numbers were estimated at 18,000 pairs in 1996. This country has seen the most growth, more than doubling between two international censuses (Marti, 1999).

According to the preliminary results of the VI International Survey, held in 2004-2005, the total number of white storks is estimated at 230 thousand pairs. The largest number in Poland - 52.5 thousand pairs, followed by Spain - 33.2 thousand pairs, Ukraine - approx. 30 thousand pairs, Belarus - 20.3 thousand pairs, Lithuania - 13 thousand pairs, Latvia - 10.7 thousand pairs, Russia - 10.2 thousand pairs. The largest increase in the number was noted in France - 209%, Sweden - 164%, Portugal - 133%, Italy - 117%, Spain - 100%. Decreased (halved) the number only in Denmark. There are only 3 slots left. For the Asian subspecies, data are given only for Uzbekistan, where 745 pairs were counted; the number decreased by 49%.

According to materials collected in Russia in 1994-1997, as well as expert estimates for areas where the survey was not carried out or was incomplete, the total number of the breeding group was at least 7,100-8,400 pairs (Cherevichko et al., 1999). The Kaliningrad and Pskov regions are most densely populated by storks. - respectively, 2,371 and 1,910 pairs. in the Bryansk region. about 600 pairs were recorded, however, most likely from 800 to 1,000 pairs nested here; at least 600 pairs bred in the Smolensk region. (449 pairs were noted in 12 western out of 25 administrative districts of the region). in the Kursk region. 325 pairs were counted, in Novgorod - 316, in Tver - 200-230, in Kaluga - about 200, in Leningrad - at least 100 pairs. From several dozen to 100 pairs lived in the Orel and Belgorod regions, in the Moscow region. 23 pairs were counted, in Voronezh - 10, Yaroslavl - 15-20, Lipetsk - 5, Ryazan - 216, Kirov - 1, Mordovia - 1 pair (Galchenkov, 2000a; Golubev, 2000; Dylyuk, 2000).

In the course of the VI International accounting, according to preliminary data, it was taken into account: Kursk region. - 929 pairs (+186% compared to the V International accounting, data by V. I. Mironov), Bryansk region. - 844 (+31%, S. M. Kosenko), Kaluga region. - 285 (+58%, Yu. D. Galchenkov), Leningrad region. - 160 (+344%, V.G. Pchelintsev), Oryol region. - 129 (S. V. Nedosekin), Moscow region. - 80 (+248%, M. V. Kalyakin).

The current abundance in Armenia is estimated at 1-1.5 thousand pairs, in Azerbaijan - 1-5 thousand pairs, in Moldova - 400-600 pairs (Birds in Europe, 2004).

During the 20th century, the number of white storks has undergone significant changes (see Grishchenko, 2000). In the first half of the century (and in some places even earlier) its rapid reduction began in many European countries. By the end of the 1940s. in Central Europe, it has almost halved. Held in 1934, 1958, 1974, 1984 international records of the white stork showed a steady decline in the number of occupied nests. So, if in 1907 in Germany there were 7-8 thousand breeding pairs (Wassmann, 1984), then by 1984 their number had decreased to 649 in the FRG (Heckenroth, 1986) and 2,724 in the GDR (Creutz, 1985) . in the Netherlands in the 19th century. the white stork was one of the common birds, there were thousands of nests in the country. But already in 1910 there were only 500 breeding pairs left, the number continued to rapidly decrease: 209 pairs in 1929, 85 in 1950, 5 in 1985 (Jonkers, 1989). After 1991, not a single “wild” pair remained at all, only birds released from special nurseries nested (Vos, 1995). Storks stopped nesting in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, came to the verge of extinction in France, Denmark and some other countries. The most vulnerable was the western population of the white stork. According to the data of the IV International Survey in 1984, in just 10 years its number decreased by 20%, the eastern population - by 12% (Rheinwald, 1989).

A radical change in the situation began in the 1980s, primarily in Spain. Around 1987, the number of storks began to grow. Over 11 years, it increased by more than 2.5 times and soon exceeded the level of half a century ago (Gomez Manzaneque, 1992; Martinez Rodriguez, 1995). The population also increased more than twice in Portugal (Rosa et al., 1999). All this was due primarily to climatic reasons. In the second half of the 1980s. finally ended a long period of drought in the Sahel zone, which significantly worsened the wintering conditions of the western population of the white stork. Contributed to the growth of numbers and a significant improvement in the food supply at the nesting sites. In Spain, for example, the area of ​​irrigated land has increased; in addition, the South American crayfish Procambarus clarkii, which is readily eaten by storks, has taken root in the canals (Schulz, 1994; 1999). In Spain and Portugal, many more birds began to stay for the winter, which also reduced mortality (Gomez Manzaneque, 1992; Rosa et al., 1999). The surge in the number of white storks in the Iberian Peninsula contributed to the rapid growth of the entire western population. Soon, the rise in the number and resettlement of these birds began in France, and the connection with the processes that took place in Spain was proved: in 1990 and 1991. found storks nesting on the Atlantic coast of France, and ringed in Spain. It is assumed that some of the storks nesting in the departments along the coast of the Bay of Biscay settled from Spain. Storks from Alsace, Switzerland and the Netherlands appeared in the northeast and in the center of France. In the department of Charente-Maritime a stork nested in 1995, ringed in 1986 by a chick in Poland. The rapid resettlement of storks in Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and other countries was also noted. in France from 1984 to 1995. population increased by 830% (Duquet, 1999).

The eastern population did not have such sharp jumps in numbers as the western one, but its positive trend was noted. Let us emphasize that with a general decrease in the number, the eastward dispersal of storks in Russia and Ukraine continued and its growth near the border of the range. The increase in the size of the eastern population began approximately at the same time as the western one, although the growth rate was much lower. The situation in the Asian subspecies also changed almost simultaneously. From 1984 to 1994, the number of white storks in Central Asia increased by more than 7 times (Shemazarov, 1999), and by 2005 the number of these birds is estimated at 700-1,000 breeding pairs (Mitropolsky, 2007).

According to monitoring data on permanent sample plots in Ukraine, in the 1990s. there has been a wave of population growth. It was outlined already in the first half of the 1990s, somewhat earlier in the north-east of Ukraine, and later in the western regions. In 1992-1994 in the villages along the river Seim in the Sumy region. there was an increase in the number of 25-30% annually (Grishchenko, 1995a, 20006). Since 1994, the average increase in Ukraine has been increasing all the time (a decline was noted only in 1997, which is extremely unfavorable for the white stork throughout Europe), reaching a maximum in 1996 and 1998. - respectively 13.7±2.9 and 16.3±3.6%. Then the growth rate began to decrease, and in 2001-2003. the population has stabilized. (Grishchenko, 2004).

During the same period, eastward settlement intensified in the eastern regions of Ukraine and Russia. In the Kharkov region by 1994, a shift of the range boundary to the east was noted compared to the distribution in 1974-1987; in 1998, nests were found on the right bank of the river. Oskol (Atemasova, Atemasov, 2003). In the Lugansk region, where the white stork met east to the river. Aidar, in 1998, 2 nests were found in the floodplain of the river. Derkul on the border with Russia (Vetrov, 1998). In the Rostov region in 1996, storks nested again after a 5-year break - a nest was found in the Manych valley (Kazakov et al., 1997). In the Krasnodar Territory, storks began nesting in the mid-1990s. (Mnatsekanov, 2000). In 1993, nesting was first recorded in the Kirov region. (Sotnikov, 1997, 1998), in 1994 - in the Tambov region. (Evdokishin, 1999), in 1995 - in Mordovia (Lapshin, Lysenkov, 1997, 2000), in 1996 - in the Vologda region. (Dylyuk, 2000). In 1996, a sharp increase in the number of birds (by 20.1%) was noted in the Kaluga region. (Galchenkov, 2000).

reproduction

Daily activity, behavior

The white stork is a diurnal bird, however, there are cases of feeding chicks on bright nights (Schuz, Schuz, 1932). At night, birds can be active on the nest: copulations, plumage care, change of incubating partners, etc. were noted. Blotzheim, 1966). Large flocks are most often crowded, disordered; birds fly at different heights (Molodovsky, 2001).

On the ground, the white stork moves in steps, rarely runs. Active flight is rather heavy, with slow wing beats. Under favorable conditions, it prefers soaring, especially when flying over long distances. In the ascending currents, clusters of birds gaining altitude are often formed. The white stork can swim, although it does so reluctantly. With a favorable wind, it is able to take off from the water surface (Bauer and Glutz von Blotzheim, 1966; Creutz, 1988).

During the non-breeding period, the white stork leads a flocking lifestyle. During nesting, colonies and aggregations may also form at feeding grounds. Non-breeding birds in the summer stay in flocks, the number of which reaches tens and even hundreds of individuals. They stay in food-rich places, leading a wandering lifestyle. The number of such flocks gradually increases from May to June, in July their size increases noticeably; they become even more numerous in August due to the formation of pre-migratory aggregations. According to observations in the Kaluga region. in the 1990s, the average number of birds in summer flocks was: in May - 3.4 individuals, in June - 4.0, in July - 7.8, in August - 10.5 (n = 50). Broods after departure are combined into flocks, which gradually become larger in the course of migration. So, if in Ukraine the usual size of migratory flocks in autumn is tens, less often hundreds of individuals, then already on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria the average size of a flock is 577.5 individuals (Michev, Profirov, 1989). In the Middle East and in the North-East. In Africa, huge aggregations exceeding 100 thousand individuals are often noted (Schulz, 1988, 1998). It has been established that the efficiency of migration (speed of movement, wind drift compensation, etc.) is higher in large flocks (numbering several thousand individuals) than in small groups or in individual birds (Liechti et al., 1996).

Storks rest mainly at night. During the nesting period, the amount of time left for resting and cleaning feathers depends on the abundance of food and the number of chicks. With its abundance, storks can rest for hours during the day or clean their plumage. The pose of a resting bird is very characteristic: the stork most often stands on one leg, pulling his head into his shoulders and hiding his beak in the fluffy plumage of his neck. As a rule, storks rest on high perches with good visibility - on dry trees, poles, roofs.

White storks use a rather unusual method of thermoregulation - they defecate on their feet. On a hot day, you can see many birds with white "stockings" on their paws. Apparently, liquid uric acid evaporates, cooling the surface of the tarsus. Her skin is richly penetrated by blood vessels, passing through which the blood is cooled (Prinzinger and Hund, 1982; Schulz, 1987). As experiments on the American wood stork (Mycteria americana) have shown, with intensive defecation on the legs, the body temperature decreases (Kahl, 1972). X. Schulz (Schulz, 1987), observing storks in Africa, found that the frequency of bowel movements depends on air temperature. The temperature threshold after which birds with dung-splattered feet begin to meet regularly is approximately 28 °C. At 40 °, the frequency of bowel movements already reaches 1.5 times per minute. White litter, in addition, shields the legs from the scorching rays of the sun. In cloudy weather, the frequency of bowel movements decreases. Observations in Ukraine have shown that in nesting areas storks also begin to use this method of thermoregulation at a temperature of about 30 °C (Grischtschenko, 1992).

When white and black storks and herons feed together, the white stork dominates (Kozulin, 1996).

Nutrition

The nutrition of the white stork is very diverse. It eats various small animals from earthworms to rodents and small birds: leeches, mollusks, spiders, crustaceans, insects and their larvae, fish, amphibians, reptiles, etc. Can destroy the nests of ground-nesting birds or catch a hare. In nutrition, even small predators, such as the weasel (.Mustela nivalis) (Lohmer et al, 1980; Shtyrkalo, 1990). The size of prey is limited only by the ability to swallow it. The diet depends on the conditions of the area and the number of hunting objects. In dry places, it can almost entirely consist of insects; in meadows and swamps, their proportion is much less. So, according to E. G. Samusenko (1994), in Belarus, the proportion of various groups of animals in the diet of the white stork varies significantly. In the floodplains of the Sozh and Berezina, invertebrates accounted for 51.6-56.8% in frequency of encounters, and up to 99% in non-floodplain biotopes.

Storks swallow their prey whole. Small animals are swallowed immediately, large insects and rodents are first killed by blows of the beak. Sometimes you can see how a white stork for some time, as it were, “chews” a captured vole or mole with its beak. If there is water nearby, the bird rinses large dry prey for some time until it can be easily swallowed. In the same way, storks wash mud-stained frogs or pbi6y (Creutz, 1988).

Undigested food remains are regurgitated in the form of pellets. The pellets are formed within 36-48 hours. They consist of chitinous remains of insects, wool and bones of mammals, scales of fish and reptiles, bristles of worms, etc. The size of the pellets is 20–100 × 20–60 mm, weight 16–65 g. In nestlings, they are somewhat smaller, 20–45 × 20–25 mm (Creutz, 1988; Muzinic and Rasajski, 1992; Schulz, 1998).

Storks feed in various open biotopes - in meadows, pastures, swamps, banks of water bodies, fields, vegetable gardens, etc. Favorite feeding places are areas with disturbed vegetation or soil layer, where small animals deprived of shelters become easy prey. The effectiveness of hunting in such situations can be very significant. Thus, in Poland, a stork feeding behind a wheat harvester caught 33 rodents in 84 minutes (Pinowski et al., 1991). It has been observed in the Elbe floodplain in Germany that the highest hunting efficiency (on average 5 g of prey per minute) was during or immediately after haymaking (Dziewiaty, 1992). Therefore, clusters of feeding storks can be seen on fresh hayfields, in cultivated fields, and even among burning grass. In Africa, these birds congregate where the locals burn the savanna during the dry season. It is enough for them to see smoke, as storks flock from everywhere, concentrating behind a wall of fire. They pace the still-smoking stalks and catch insects. Sometimes hundreds of individuals congregate at such conflagrations (Creutz, 1988). Storks willingly accompany herds of livestock or wild animals on pastures. Ungulates scare small animals, facilitating their prey. In meadows, storks most often feed in areas with low grass or in shallow water bodies. They rarely wander deeper than 20-30 cm. Storks collect earthworms most often after rains, when they crawl out to the surface, or in freshly plowed fields. They willingly feed on irrigated fields abounding in earthworms. Although the number of insects is higher in high vegetation, the hunting efficiency of the white stork is reduced. For example, in Austria it was 61% in vegetation 25 cm high and 52% in plants 25-30 cm high (Schulz, 1998).

The main way to hunt a white stork is active search mining. The bird paces measuredly over the grass or shallow water, now slowing down, then accelerating; can make sharp throws or freeze in place. Less commonly, storks lie in wait for prey, primarily rodents and large insects. Birds collect food on the ground, in shallow water, less often on plants. They can also catch flying animals with their beaks - dragonflies, beetles and other insects. Sometimes they even knock them down with their wings. Storks kept in captivity quickly learn to grab food thrown to them with their beak on the fly. There have even been reports of storks successfully hunting passing sparrows and other small birds (Niethammer, 1967; Creutz, 1988; Berthold, 2004). The bird gropes for earthworms and other soil invertebrates with its beak, plunging it into the ground for several centimeters (Schulz, 1998). Storks have also been observed to grab fish from the surface of the water in flight (Neuschulz, 1981; Schulz, 1998).

According to research by P. Sackl (Sackl, 1985, cited in: Schulz, 1998) in Austria, average speed movement of the stork during feeding - 1.7 km / h. At the same time, he takes from 1 to 90 steps per minute, an average of 39.3. The time of stalking prey varies from 10.5 to 720 seconds, averaging 151.8 seconds. Occasionally, birds can freeze in place for up to 12 or even 20 minutes. A feeding stork makes an average of 5.3 pecks per minute, of which 4.0 are successful. When feeding tadpoles and young frogs in shallow water in the floodplain of the river. In the Sava in Croatia, the peck rate was 5.9 per minute, of which 2.9 were successful (Schulz, 1998).

The bird detects prey most often visually. Sometimes, in muddy shallow water, white storks also use tact location, similarly to storks of the genus Mycteria (Luhrl, 1957; Rezanov, 2001). According to the observations of A. G. Rezanov (2001) in the south of Ukraine, sounding of muddy water and muddy bottom was carried out non-stop with a slightly ajar beak. Storks walked in shallow water, making 43-89 steps per minute, constantly probing the bottom in front of them. 98.9% of the pecks were one-off tactile probings. Feeding success was 2.3%.

Storks can also eat dead animals, such as dead fish or chicks killed during haymaking, and even eat garbage. in Spain in the 1990s. they have mastered the landfills and now feed there along with gulls and corvids. Some birds even overwinter in landfills (Martin, 2002; Tortosa et al., 2002).

Storks feed both singly and in flocks. In places rich in food, huge aggregations can form, which sometimes reach tens of thousands of individuals during wintering. Moreover, in aggregations, the feeding efficiency of storks increases, since they are better protected from predators and spend less time looking around (Carrascal et al., 1990).

During the nesting period, storks forage, as a rule, near the nest, but they can fly for food even several kilometers away. The success of reproduction largely depends on the distance to the main forage grounds. Studies on the Elbe in Germany have shown that the average distance from the nest to foraging sites is inversely proportional to the number of chicks reared (Dziewiaty, 1999). A significant correlation was found between the number of hatched chicks and the proportion of wet meadows, swamps, and water bodies in the nesting territory (Nowakowski, 2003). According to observations from one of the nests in Silesia in Poland, birds flew for food most often to several preferred places located at a distance of 500 to 3375 m, with an average of 1900 m (Jakubiec, Szymocski, 2000). Observations of another pair in Pomerania in northern Poland showed that the storks were feeding on an area of ​​about 250 hectares. In more than half of the cases, they searched for prey in a few preferred sites, which accounted for only 12% of the total area. 65% of the time they fed in meadows and pastures, 24% in the fields and 11% in the pond. The maximum flight distance for prey is 3,600 m, the average is 826 m. In 53% of cases, storks fed no further than 800 m from the nest. They flew farthest when the chicks were already grown. Interestingly, the male and female differed in their preferences, feeding mainly in different places (Oigo and Bogucki, 1999). On the Elbe, in 80% of cases, storks foraged no further than 1 km from the nest (Dziewiaty, 1992). The maximum foraging distance determined for ringed birds in Zap. Europe is 10 km (Lakeberg, 1995).

An analysis of 242 food samples collected during the non-breeding period in Ukraine showed that in the spring greater value have amphibians and shields, in August - orthoptera and various beetles. Storks feed chicks mainly with amphibians and insects at various stages of development. Of the insects, Orthoptera and beetles are of the greatest importance; in total, representatives of 19 families of 3 orders were found in the diet (Smogorzhevsky, 1979).

In pellets collected in the upper reaches of the Kyiv Reservoir. in the Chernihiv region, 96.1% of the fragments from the total number belonged to the remains of arthropods. Moreover, the nutrition of storks was very diverse: up to 130 species of animals were found in one pellet, including such small ones as ants. Insects were dominated by Coleoptera (35.3%), Hymenoptera (21.0%) and Caddisflies (19.6%). Vertebrates played only a minor role in nutrition (Marisova, Samofalov, Serdyuk, 1992).

According to the analysis of 337 pellets collected in the southern and central parts of Belarus in 1986-1992, the main food of the white stork was invertebrates - 99% of the total number of certain specimens of food objects. Aquatic beetles and bedbugs, mass species of ground beetles, inhabiting predominantly humid habitats, and molluscs predominated. In settlements, the share of small mammals and insects, characteristic of dry biotopes, increases (Samusenko, 1994). M. I. Lebedeva (1960) in pellets collected in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, found 80 specimens among 187 food items. molluscs, 75 - insects, 24 frogs, 8 viviparous lizards. Of the insects, 42 dragonflies, 20 larvae of swimming and water beetles, 9 bears, 2 grasshoppers, 1 caterpillar were found. According to A.P. Krapivny (1957), in the diet of white stork chicks in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, 72.5% by weight were vertebrates, of which 60.6% were frogs. The proportion of earthworms was only 1%.

In the Kaluga region entomological analysis of the pellets showed the presence of representatives of 17 species belonging to 7 families of the Coleoptera order. The most common were representatives of the family of ground beetles (Carabidae) - 41%. Next come the scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) - 22%, water beetles (Hydrophilidae) - 15%, leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) and rove beetles (Staphylinidae) - 7% each, swimmers (Dytiscidae) and false elephants (Anthribidae) - 4% each. The presented species of beetles were mainly inhabitants of moderately wet and dry meadows, as well as anthropogenic landscapes, and were characteristic of the soil surface - 44%, inhabited small ponds and puddles or were dung beetles - 19% each; they were followed by beetles, inhabiting fields and living on vegetation, as well as inhabiting mixed forests and living on bark and leaves - 7% each. In the Tver region representatives of 7 families of beetles were recorded in food, most of which are lamellar and ground beetles (61.3%) (Nikolaev, 2000).

In Masuria in Poland, out of 669 collected pellets, 97.3% contained insect remains (representatives of the families Carabidae, Silphidae, Dytiscidae, Scarabeidae predominated), 72.2% - small mammals (mainly moles, mice and voles), 1.6% - molluscs, 1.0% - small birds, 0.7% - amphibians. The proportion of insects in the diet was highest in the fields during the growth of cereals and alfalfa and in mowed meadows and fields after harvesting, rather high in plowed fields (Pinowski et al., 1991). In Austria, during the nesting period, orthopterans (67.7%) and beetles (24.1%) prevailed in food in terms of quantity, vertebrates (55.5%), primarily small rodents (33.2%), in weight. Among insects, storks preferred locusts, ground beetles, leaf beetles and horn beetles. In April-June, the diet was more varied, with a predominance of small rodents; in July-August, Orthoptera predominated (Sackl, 1987). The diet of summer flocks of non-breeding birds in meadows in Poland was dominated by insects (83%), primarily beetles, by biomass - small mammals, mainly voles (58%), insects (22%) and earthworms (11.5%) (Antczak et al., 2002). Studies in Greece showed a wide variability of the diet in different habitats, but insect remains, primarily orthopterans and beetles, dominated in the pellets (Tsachalidis and Goutner, 2002).

The diet of storks can vary from year to year, depending on weather conditions. So, in the north of Germany in 1990, when there was a surge in the number of mouse-like rodents, the latter accounted for 59.1 and 68% of the food weight in two areas where studies were carried out, and in 1991 - only 3.6 and 3, 8%. In the very wet year of 1991, earthworms predominated in the diet - 50 and 61.6% by weight (Thomsen and Struwe, 1994). In southern Germany, in different years, the weight fraction of earthworms in the diet of the white stork ranged from 28.9 to 84%, arthropods - from 8.9 to 28.5%, leeches - 0 to 51.9%, rodents - from 1.5 up to 55.2%, frogs - from 1.2 to 5.4% (Lakeberg, 1995).

One of the main groups of insects that the white stork feeds on are orthoptera, primarily locusts. Highest value in the diet, it has wintering places in Africa, and therefore, in the languages ​​of some African peoples, the white stork is called the "locust bird". Storks can eat a huge amount of locusts, sometimes overeating so that they cannot fly. During a locust raid on Hortobágy in Hungary in 1907, about 1,000 specimens were found in the digestive tract of one of the captured storks. locusts. The stomach and esophagus of the bird were stuffed to the very throat. In one of the stork pellets, 1,600 locust mandibles were found (Schenk, 1907). According to the latest author, a flock of 100 storks is capable of destroying 100 thousand copies per day. these dangerous pests. In nesting areas, the white stork also destroys a large number of pests. Agriculture, especially the bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa), weevils, wireworms. According to A.P. Krapivny (1957), in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in the diet of chicks, bears made up 8% by number and almost 14% by weight. In the Masurian Lake District in Poland, 31% of the pellets contained remains of wireworms, 14% of weevils, and 16% of mole crickets (Pinowska et al., 1991). In Zap. In France, the food that storks brought to chicks was dominated by water beetles and bears (Barbraud and Barbraud, 1998).

When kept in captivity, the daily food requirement of an adult stork ranges from 300 g in the warm season to 500 g in winter. A bird needs 110-130 kg per year (Bloesch, 1982). The daily energy requirement of a pair of storks feeding their chicks is estimated at 4,660 kJ. This amount gives the consumption of 1.4 kg of earthworms, 1044 g of frogs or 742 g of small rodents (Profus, 1986). According to other data, a pair with 1-2 chicks consumes about 5200 kJ (B5hning-Gaese, 1992). On the river Sava in Croatia, a pair of storks daily brought to chicks at the age of 3-6 weeks an average of 1.4 kg of food per chick (Schulz, 1998), in northern Germany (chicks aged 3-8 weeks) - 1.2 kg (Struwe, Thomsen, 1991).

For the white stork, the most energy-efficient food is vertebrates. In humid habitats, these are usually amphibians. However, due to land reclamation and hydrotechnical works, their number in many countries has significantly decreased. Thus, the diet of a pair of storks under observation in the Swiss Jura consisted of earthworms by 2/3, while vertebrates accounted for only 0.4% (Wermeille and Biber, 2003). In such conditions, rodents are becoming increasingly important for storks. Observations in the valley of the river. Obras in western Poland showed that breeding success and even the number of nests occupied were higher in years of high abundance. common vole(Microtus arvalis) (Tryjanowski and Kuzniak, 2002).

Enemies, adverse factors

The white stork has few natural enemies. Nests can be destroyed by large birds of prey, corvids, martens. Adult birds become victims of attacks by eagles, sea eagles, large four-legged predators - foxes, stray dogs, wolves, etc. However, the death of most adult white storks is directly or indirectly related to humans.

Power lines are responsible for most of the deaths. In 1986-1989 in Ukraine, out of 489 deaths of adult storks with a known cause, 64.0% were attributable to power lines. Among the victims of power lines, 80.8% died on poles from electric shock and 19.2% crashed on the wires. Power lines pose the greatest danger to young poorly flying birds: 72.8% of deaths occur in storks that have recently left the nest. In second place was the direct destruction of people - 12.7%. 8.8% of storks died as a result of fights on nests and during the formation of flocks before departure, 7.6% - due to adverse weather conditions, 2.9% - due to pesticide poisoning, 1.6% - due to collisions with transport, 1.2% - due to diseases, 0.8% - from predators, 0.4% - due to falling into large pipes. Thus, in total, only 18.4% of storks died for reasons not related to human activity. The main reason for the death of chicks (742 cases with a known cause) is the throwing of chicks by parents from nests. It accounts for 41.9%. 20.2% of chicks died due to adverse weather conditions, 12.9% - due to falling nests, 7% - in fights between adult storks on nests, 6.2% - destroyed by humans, 4.5% - due to for the burning of nests, 2.7% - as a result of the death of parents, 2.0% died from predators, 1.5% - poisoned, 1.1% - died due to materials brought into the nest (Grishchenko, Gaber, 1990).

In the Kaluga region the picture is somewhat different. According to the data collected in 1960-99, the main cause of death of adult birds is poaching. It accounts for 74% of cases with an established cause of death (n = 19). In 21% of cases, birds died on power lines, 1 time an adult bird died during a fight for a nest with other storks. The main reason for the death of fledglings is contact with electrical communications: from electric shock on open transformers and power transmission poles, as well as from a collision with wires. Some cases of loss of young birds shortly after leaving the nests should probably be attributed to poaching. Such differences are connected with the fact that in the territories recently inhabited by storks, the attitude of people towards them is much less favorable. There are even cases of destruction of nests that have appeared. Thus, the first nest in Mordovia was destroyed by local residents because of fears that storks would damage cucumber crops (Lapshin, Lysenkov, 1997). In the Nizhny Novgorod region the main cause of nest death is human persecution (Bakka, Bakka, Kiseleva, 2000). The destruction of adult birds and the destruction of nests was noted in the south-east of Turkmenistan, where storks tried to nest in the 1980s. (Belousov, 1990). However, even in those regions where the white stork has been living for a long time, the attitude of the local population towards it has changed for the worse. This is evidenced by at least a high percentage of the destruction of birds by people among the causes of death and the destruction of nests on the pylons of power lines.

Among the reasons for the death of chicks, as mentioned above, parental infanticide is in the first place. A significant part of the chicks is thrown out of the nests or even eaten by adult storks. So, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, almost 30% of pairs threw out chicks, and sometimes even all chicks of the brood were destroyed (Fedyushin, Dolbik, 1967). In Spain, infanticide was recorded in 18.9% of the observed nests. In all cases, the weakest chick was thrown out. The average age of discarded storks is 7.3 days (Tortosa and Redondo, 1992). Usually this behavior is associated with a lack of food. According to D. Lack (1957), the instinct of aborting a part of the laid eggs or hatched chicks is an adaptation that makes it possible to bring the size of the family in line with the amount of food available. It is assumed that the prevalence of infanticide in the white stork is associated with the lack of siblicide and competition for food in broods. Parents bring large amounts of small food, and larger chicks cannot monopolize it. Since the weakest chicks do not die themselves, their parents “have to” destroy them (Tortosa and Redondo, 1992; Zielicski, 2002).

A similar situation is noted not only in the territory of the former. USSR, but also in other countries. Most adult storks die on power lines; power lines pose the greatest danger to young, still poorly flying birds. This has been noted in Bulgaria (Nankinov, 1992), Germany (Riegel and Winkel, 1971; Fiedler and Wissner, 1980), Spain (Garrido, Femandez-Cruz, 2003), Poland (Jakubiec, 1991), Slovakia (Fulin, 1984), Switzerland (Moritzi, Spaar, Biber, 2001). In the district of Rostock in East Germany, out of 116 dead white stork chicks, 55.2% were discarded by their parents, 20.7% died due to falling nests, and 9.5% from hypothermia (Zollick, 1986). On migration paths and in wintering areas, the main causes of death of storks are shooting and other forms of persecution by people, death on power lines, and pesticide poisoning (Schulz, 1988). If a stream of many thousands of migratory storks crosses an area with a dense network of power lines, dozens of individuals die simultaneously (Nankinov, 1992).

In many African countries, the white stork is traditionally a hunting species. According to the returns of the rings, in the North. and Zap. In Africa, about 80% of deaths are due to shooting. According to X. Schultz (1988), in the 1980s. on the eastern flyway, 5-10 thousand storks were shot annually, of which 4-6 thousand were in Lebanon.

The mass death of storks can be caused by catastrophic weather events - storms, large hail, etc. On August 5, 1932, near one of the villages in northern Bulgaria, during an unprecedented hailstorm (pieces of ice up to half a kilogram in weight fell from the sky!) About 200 storks died and about a hundred more were left with broken legs and wings (Schumann, 1932). In 1998, in two villages of the Lviv region. almost all the chicks in the 19 monitored nests died during heavy rains(Gorbulshska et al., 2004). Great damage can be caused by the return of cold weather after the arrival of storks. So, in 1962 in the Lviv region. hundreds of individuals died due to frost and snowfalls in the third decade of March (Cherkashchenko, 1963).

Sometimes chicks die trying to swallow too much food brought by their parents. big booty. For example, a case of death of a stork choking on a snake was noted (Kuppler, 2001). Some materials brought by parents to the nest are also dangerous for the chicks - pieces of twine, tow, in which storks can get tangled; pieces of film or oilcloth in a tray on which water collects.

Among the unfavorable factors are the changes in the environment that have taken place in recent decades. Buildings with thatched and thatched roofs, on which storks willingly nested, practically disappeared from the villages. The number of old trees suitable for nesting in settlements is also decreasing. Excessive reclamation, flooding of river floodplains with reservoirs, violation of the normal hydro regime of water bodies leads to depletion of the food supply. This is especially true for many countries in the West. Europe, where it is necessary to specially breed amphibians for food for storks. Recently, another problem has been added - the reduction in the area of ​​traditionally used meadows and pastures in many regions of the East. Europe and North. Asia due to the economic downturn. Increasing chemicalization of agriculture causes the accumulation of pesticides in food chains, which causes poisoning and diseases of birds. To the greatest extent, this is manifested in wintering areas, where an active fight is carried out against locusts and other pests of agriculture, which serve as the main food for storks.

In Central Asia, the most important factor influencing changes in range and abundance was the development of new lands for crops with a predominance of cotton monoculture, cutting down trees in river valleys, draining swamps, and reducing the area of ​​rice fields. Thanks to the enlargement of the fields, many forest belts were cut down. Modern architecture and urban planning trends do not contribute to the nesting of the white stork in settlements (Sagitov, 1990; Shernazarov et al., 1992).

In Russia, a significant factor limiting the number of nesting pairs is the destruction of nests on churches in connection with their restoration, on telegraph poles and power transmission line supports during the maintenance of electrical communications, as well as the dismantling of water towers for installation in a new location or scrapping. The latter factor is particularly threatening, as more than half of the Russian group white stork.

Unfavorable factors include the deterioration of the positive attitude towards the white stork of the local population, the loss of long-standing folk traditions. So, held in the Kyiv region. The survey showed that a significant part of rural residents not only do not know how to attract a white stork for nesting, but also do not want to have a nest on the estate (Grishchenko et al., 1992). This is despite the fact that the presence of a nest was previously considered a great blessing; attracting a white stork for nesting was one of the elements of ancient agrarian magic (Grishchenko, 19986, 2005). In Uzbekistan, the white stork was considered a sacred bird, but now the population in some places is engaged in destroying nests and collecting eggs (Sagitov, 1990).

In the south of Ukraine, 4 species of helminths have been recorded in the white stork: Dyctimetra discoidea, Chaunocephalus ferox, Tylodelphys excavata, Histriorchis tricolor (Kornushin et al., 2004).

About 70 representatives of various insect species, mainly beetles (Coleoptera) were found in the nests of the white stork (Hicks, 1959).

Economic importance, protection

The white stork destroys a large number of agricultural pests, primarily insects and rodents. It is widely known as one of the most active locust exterminators. The stork can bring some damage to the fishing and hunting economy, eating fish, chicks, rabbits, etc., but this is only random, and such food items do not occupy any noticeable place in the diet of the white stork. More or less significant damage to fisheries occurs only where large concentrations of storks form and there is practically no other food (for example, on fish farms in Israel). In the countries of the East. Europe and North. Asia is rare.

The white stork is a long-time companion of man, it has great aesthetic significance, it is considered one of the most beloved and revered birds among many peoples. His cult was formed in ancient times, most likely soon after the emergence of a producing economy (Grishchenko, 19986, 2005). The stork is an excellent object for environmental education and upbringing, it accepts human help, positively affects the emotions of people living nearby. To protect the stork, active propaganda and explanatory work is needed, as well as the revival of long-standing folk traditions of helping this bird. At the same time, due to the great popularity of the white stork, it is possible to attract a significant number of people to environmental protection activities. Large-scale scientific and propaganda campaigns are more effective, for example, the operations "Leleka" ("Stork") and "Year of the White Stork" carried out in Ukraine (Grishchenko, 1991, 19966; Grishchenko et al., 1992). Both propaganda work and practical assistance in the resettlement zone are especially important to secure the birds in new nesting places.

The white stork is listed in the Red Books of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and in the Russian Federation - in the Red Books of Karelia, Mordovia, Chechnya, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Belgorod, Volgograd, Kaluga, Kirov, Lipetsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov , Tver and some other areas.