White stork

About This Project

The symbol of Alsace

This stork is easy to spot, with its white plumage, black wingtips and long orange bill. It lives happily alongside humans and is found in wetlands, arable and pasture land, sometimes even in towns and villages! It hunts small creatures with its bill, which it also uses to communicate by making a loud clattering noise!

This species nearly disappeared from France in the 1970s, victim of the drainage of wetland areas and increasingly intensive agriculture. However, protective measures and reintroduction have seen numbers rise to over 1900 pairs in France today!

You will see a flock of 5 storks in their aviary… or at the end of birds’ display!

Latin name: Ciconia ciconia
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconiidae
Size: 0.9-1.15m tall, wingspan 1.95-2.15m
Weight: 3 – 3.5 kg
Lifespan: 26 to 33 years
Incubation: 32 to 34 days
Number of eggs: 4
Habitat: swamp
Diet: carnivorous / insectivorous / piscivorous
Distribution: Europe, Middle East, India, sub-Saharan Africa. In France: north-east, Normandy, along the Atlantic coast and around the Camargue.
Conservation status: not at risk

Category
Aves