White Stork
Giethoorn, Holland (Aug, 2013).
The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts. The black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The adult has a bright red beak and red legs, the coloration of which is derived from carotenoids in the diet.
In both Belgium and Holland efforts are made to preserve the population of white storks by providing artificial nests for them. The couple in the pictures just colonized this nest. In the video you may hear their beaks beating for courtship. The pair is also banded to monitor their whereabouts.
The White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe, northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia and southern Africa.
comments (5)
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Using the chimneys. More recent houses often don't have a chimney anymore, because we heat our houses with natural gas, which is pretty much the only natural resource of the Netherlands we have lots of. Posted 9 years ago
and oh, that is a sad story but I imagine for many of these monogamous migratory birds it happens..I hope the widowed bird eventually finds a new partner. Posted 9 years ago