Black stork

Ciconia nigra

A forest stork with dark glossy upperparts, white underparts, and a red bill, often seen quietly foraging far from settlements.

Key facts

Black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Ciconiiformes · Ciconiidae.
Primary habitats are forest · freshwater, with a range across Palearctic · Afrotropical · Indomalayan.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is pair, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A forest stork with dark glossy upperparts, white underparts, and a red bill, often seen quietly foraging far from settlements.
Breeds in Eurasian forests near streams and wetlands, with many birds wintering in African and South Asian wetlands.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Breeds in Eurasian forests near streams and wetlands, with many birds wintering in African and South Asian wetlands.

The upperparts are glossy black, the belly is white, and the bill and legs are red. The wings are broad for soaring.

Usually solitary or paired, it walks through shallow water to feed and uses thermals during migration.

It catches fish, frogs, aquatic insects, and small reptiles by striking quickly in shallow water.

Large nests are built in old trees or on cliffs. Both adults incubate and bring fish and other prey to the chicks.

More secretive than the white stork, it depends on quiet wetlands and undisturbed nesting forests.