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5

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) German name(s): "Schwarzstorch" Size: 0.9-1.05 m; wing span 1.75-2.05 m Weight: 2.9 kg (average)

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Striated Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Squacco Heron Green Heron Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black Storks are tall birds with a long neck and an all-black plumage, except the belly, vent, undertail coverts and the innermost parts of the underwings, which are white. The black parts can have a violet to green metallic gloss. The long legs and pointy bill are crimson-red and the eyes are surrounded by crimson-red Juvenile Black Storks have dull grey and greenish-black plumage where adults are glossy black, with speckling down the front, and their legs and bill are grey-green.

Taxonomy, classification See Black Stork at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black Stork is available HERE . Black Storks are a partly migratory, partly sedentary species, with two separate major populations. There is a sedentary/dispersive population in the southern quarter of Africa. While in most parts Black Storks are sedentary within that range, the north-western part of their range (mostly Angola) is frequented only during the winter months. The migratory part of the population is split into three parts. One part spends the winters in western sub-Saharan Africa. Of these, most birds migrate to the North-African coastline and western/central Europe via the West-African coastline, crossing the Mediterranean near Gibraltar. A second population winters in eastern sub-Saharan Africa, of which most birds migrate to eastern and south-eastern Europe and European Russia via the Nile valley, along the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and via Asia Minor. There is a distinct migration border in Europe between these two populations that runs roughly from the German/Danish border on the Baltic Sea coastline to the Hungarian Puszta. A third population winters in tropical southern Asia, from the India/Pakistan border region in the West to southern China in the East, basically anywhere to the South of the Himalaya mountains. Their breeding range encompasses much of mid-latitude Asia, up to the Siberian East coast, with the exception of areas without tall trees, such as e.g. the Mongolian steppe. They are capable of flying over the Himalaya mountain range and have been spotted at altitudes of up to 8000 m! Within their breeding range, including Europe, Black Storks are scattered and far apart; even where the population density can be considered "high", nests are at least 1 km apart. That, and the species' shyness, makes the Black Stork harder to find than the White Stork. The range of the western population, which includes wintering grounds in south-western Iberia, extends from parts of central western France into the Belgian/German border region and on into northern Germany and from there the entire region towards the Balkans and Greece. The eastern population settles into an area spanning from Romania (the Danube Delta) to Poland and the Baltic States and everything to the East of that line towards the Ural Mountains. There is also a breeding population in and around the Caucasus mountain range. Only in an area northwards of the northern coastlines of both the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus they are found only during their migration. During the breeding season Black Storks will choose habitats with tall trees, often conifers, and good cover near water. They are much more specialized into hunting in wetlands, such as submerged meadows, bogs and swamps than White Storks.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Black Storks in the area of Mora, Evora, Portugal. In the past they were seen during their migration, but in recent years they can be found in the area all year round, during both summer and winter. J. Pires also found Black Storks at Sagres, Algarve, in preparation for migration in October 2018 and again in October 2019. In 2020 Black Storks were also found Couco, Coruche, Santarem, and the Montargil Dam, Portugal. In June 2021, the species was found on the Sorraia River at Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal. More Black Storks were found on Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, in January 2023. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Black Storks in the River Bug Landscape Park, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, in May 2018.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of adult Black Storks in a shallow wetland, with a Grey Heron at the back (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Black Stork (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Black Stork (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2021]

Comparison of a Black Stork with a Grey Heron and a Great (White) Egret (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil Dam, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Black Stork banking to the right; note the six prominent "fingers" (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Close-up near-lateral view of a Black Stork in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, February 2022]

Lateral/ventral view of a Black Stork in flight; note the purple/green iridescence on the neck that is described in field guides but rarely seen this clearly in nature (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Black Stork in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2018]

Lateral view of a Black Stork in low flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug Landscape Park, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, May 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Black Stork in low flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of Black Storks in flight, heading towards their winter quarters; two adults at the top, two juveniles below
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Black Storks and other birds making use of a thermal to gain altitude before heading across the strait of Gibraltar to Africa
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Family of Black Storks, adults on the right, immature birds on the left, resting in shallow water together with a small flock of Eurasian Spoonbills in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2015]

Lateral view of a juvenile Black Stork (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Black Stork, with an adult behind (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Black Stork with its catch, a fish; in the background a Great [White] Egret (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Black Stork with its catch, a fish (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2018]

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