OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Ciconia ("stork") nigra ("black")
Adult Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) on the nest at Monfrague National Park, Spain - April 2016
Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 3kg / Length: 95-100cm / Wingspan: 145-155cm
The Black Stork is the other large Stork of Europe, but unlike the White Stork, is a far more secretive bird found in remote places. It is a more specialised species tied to fresh water habitats and forest in which it breeds. Generally a difficult to see species, in the Monfrague National park there is a nest that can be viewed from one of the watch-points, and birds can be seen flying over. However, even with these advantages they still can be reliably seen only at considerably greater distance than the urban-dwelling White Stork, which from a selfish standpoint is a shame as I would generally regard the Black Stork as the more handsome of the two.
Related Species:
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconidae
Genus: Ciconia
Subspecies: None - monotypic
- Sighting Locations -
- MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen at Monfrague (2 adults in flight, 1 adult on the nest)
Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto
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