Where are they located?
They breed throughout Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Middle East.
During winter, they migrate in flocks of thousands to tropical Africa, parts of the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.
Thermal currents aid their migration. For this reason, they avoid areas of open water, such as the Mediterranean.
What is its habitat?
The white stork prefers areas with shallow waters, that are neither too cold nor too humid. It avoids regions with large areas of tall or dense vegetation. For this reason, it prefers areas that humans also tend to choose for agriculture.
During the breeding season, Ciconia ciconia looks for suitable structures for nest building, such as tall trees, roofs, chimneys, haystacks, power line towers, telephone poles, or purpose-built nesting towers.
The nest is usually built about 30 meters above the ground. With a diameter of 2 m and a depth of 3 m, the white stork's nest is among the largest of all birds. To build it, it uses sticks, branches, fabric, paper, and other materials.
Are they endangered?
The breeding population of Ciconia ciconia has declined for most of the 20th century, partly due to the destruction of suitable feeding habitats as a result of intensifying agricultural development.
However, in recent years, white stork populations have increased by up to 20% thanks to new land-use laws, especially in Spain and Eastern European countries.
Despite these improvements, Ciconia ciconia is still threatened by various habitat disturbances:
- Agricultural intensification.
- Drainage of wet meadows.
- Lack of nesting sites in some areas.
- Destruction of nests during maintenance work.
- Changes in feeding conditions due to droughts, desertification, and locust pest control with insecticides (in Africa).
- Excessive use of insecticides.
- Electrocution by power lines.
Assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern (2015).
