Wood Stork

Mycteria americanaOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Storks (Ciconiidae)

Codes: Common Name: WOST Scientific Name: MYCAME ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174897

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Wood Stork: Large, odd wading bird, mostly white except for black flight feathers and tail. Upper neck and head are featherless and dark gray. The bill is thick, long, and curved downward. Legs and feet are gray black. Alternates between strong wing beats and gliding. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

Range and Habitat

Wood Stork: Breeds in Florida and Georgia; very rarely elsewhere along the coast from South Carolina to Texas. Wanders as far as California and Massachusetts, though very rarely. Breeding habitat is chiefly in cypress swamps; also in mangroves.

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

In Florida, the Wood Stork breeds during the late winter dry season when its fish prey are concentrated in shrinking pools.

Their eggs are bigger than tennis balls.

Wood Storks have been known to fly as high as 6000 feet. They will fly as much as 50 miles in search of food.

They nest above water to prevent predators such as raccoons from feeding on their eggs and young.

A group of storks has many collective nouns, including "a clatter of storks", "a filth of storks", "a muster of storks", "a phalanx of storks", and a "swoop of storks."

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Great Egret
American White Pelican
Jabiru

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Wood Stork

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Wood Stork: Eats small fish, tadpoles, frogs, and crayfish. Hunts by wading with its bill open just under the water surface, snapping it shut when encountering prey.

● Breeding & nesting: Wood Stork: Lays two to five white eggs in nest made of twigs, vines, and moss, built at the top of tall tree; nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 27 to 32 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Wood Stork: White Pelican tucks neck in flight, has short legs and long, orange bill. Whooping Crane has white secondaries and a white, feathered head and neck. White Ibis is much smaller with white head and neck, red bill, and white secondaries.

Flight Pattern

Alternates between strong flapping flight and gliding., Rides high on thermals.

● Range & Habitat: Wood Stork: Breeds in Florida and Georgia; very rarely elsewhere along the coast from South Carolina to Texas. Wanders as far as California and Massachusetts, though very rarely. Breeding habitat is chiefly in cypress swamps; also in mangroves.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight96 Ounces

Long-legged-like Body

Flight feathers

Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Wood Stork

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Related Birds

Wood Stork

Flight Pattern