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WetlandPlatform nestHuge · 2.6 kg
ID tip
The adult wood stork is a large bird which stands 83 to 115 cm (33–45 in) tall with a wingspan of 140 to 180 cm (55–71 in). The male typically weighs 2.5 to 3.3 kg (5.5–7.3 lb), with a mean weight of 2.7 kg (6.0 lb); the female weighs 2.0 to 2.8 kg (4.4–6.2 lb), with a mean weight of 2.42 kg (5.3 lb). Another estimate puts the mean weight at 2.64 kg (5.8 lb). The head and neck of the adult are bare, and the scaly skin is a dark grey. The black downward-curved bill is long and very wide at the base.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Wood Stork
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Wood Stork
The map shades 24 countries with regular records, and 5 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, Chile, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, France.
About the Wood Stork
The wood stork is a large wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks). Originally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, this stork is native to the subtropics and tropics of the Americas where it persists in habitats with fluctuating water levels. It is the only stork species that breeds in North America. The head and neck are bare of feathers, and dark grey in colour. The plumage is mostly white, with the exception of the tail and some of the wing feathers, which are black with a greenish-purplish sheen.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Painted StorkMycteria leucocephalaThis large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis.
Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibisThis medium-sized stork stands 90–105 cm (35–41 in) tall.
Milky StorkMycteria cinereaThe milky stork is a stork species inhabiting predominantly mangroves in Southeast Asia.
Side by side: Painted Stork vs Wood Stork · Wood Stork vs Yellow-billed Stork
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