Oriental Stork
Ciconia boyciana
Endangered stork of expansive wetlands and fields in East Asia. Adult white with sharply contrasting black flight feathers, black bill, and red legs; juvenile similar but orange-billed. Compare very different Siberian Crane, with shorter bill, black restricted to outer portion of wing. Stately, elegant bird in flight and on ground, where it forages for grain, fruit, invertebrates, and small animals. Breeding display involves loud clattering of bills, but typically silent.
Identification
It is typically larger than the white stork, at 100–129 cm (39.5–51 in) long, 110–150 cm (43–59 in) tall, a weight of 2.8–5.9 kg (6.2–13.0 lb) and a wingspan of 2.22 m (7.3 ft). Unlike its more widespread cousin, the Oriental stork has red skin around its eye, with a whitish iris and black bill. Both sexes are similar. The female is slightly smaller than male. The young are white with orange bills.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1873. It is closely related to and resembles the European white stork (C. ciconia), of which it was formerly often treated as a subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Ciconia boyciana
- Authority
- Swinhoe, 1873
- Order
- Ciconiiformes
- Family
- Ciconiidae
- Genus
- Ciconia
Range and habitat
The Oriental stork is found in Japan, China, Korea and Siberia. It was once extirpated from Japan and the Korean Peninsula. However, in May 2007 a hatchling was reported in Japan for the first time in 40 years in the wild. It was an offspring of two storks who were bred in captivity.
- Breeding range
- PAL : se Siberia, ne China, Korea, Japan
- Non-breeding range
- se China
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
Due to habitat loss and overhunting, the Oriental stork is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.There have been efforts to reintroduce the storks to the wild, but there must be changes to the environment first. The storks were harshly impacted by the growth of the rice industry and the subsequent use of pesticides. There is a push for rice farmers to grow their plants organically so that the storks may breed and grow safely in their environments.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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