Bird Guide

African Woolly-necked Stork vs Asian Woolly-necked Stork

African Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia microscelis)

African Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia microscelis

Huge2.1 kgWetland

The African woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork at 75–92 cm tall. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. The stork is glistening black overall with a black "skull cap", a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark coloured plumage. Feathers on the fore-neck are iridescent with a coppery-purple tinge. These feathers are elongated and can be erected during displays. The tail is deeply forked and is white, usually covered by the black long under tail coverts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bruno - Yolande Zanette · CC BY 4.0
Asian Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus)

Asian Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia episcopus

Huge2.1 kgWetland

The woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork at 75–92 cm tall. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. The stork is glistening black overall with a black "skull cap", a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark coloured plumage. Feathers on the fore-neck are iridescent with a coppery-purple tinge. These feathers are elongated and can be erected during displays. The tail is deeply forked and is white, usually covered by the black long under tail coverts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Kaippally · CC BY 2.5

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: African Woolly-necked Stork and Asian Woolly-necked Stork.