Wood Stork

The Wood Stork is the only stork species that breeds in North America, ranging from the southeastern United States through Central America and much of South America. It is a large, heavy-bodied bird with mostly white plumage, black flight feathers and tail, and a bald, dark, scaly-skinned head and neck that give it an almost prehistoric appearance.

The thick, long, downcurved bill is used in one of the fastest reflexes known among birds: when the bill tip touches a fish, it snaps shut in a fraction of a second. Wood Storks are colonial nesters and are considered an indicator species for the health of wetland ecosystems, particularly in the Florida Everglades.

Key field marks

• Large white-bodied stork with black flight feathers visible in flight
• Bald, dark grey to blackish, scaly-skinned head and neck
• Thick, heavy, downcurved black bill
• Long dark legs with pink toes
• Soars on thermals with neck and legs extended, wings held flat

Similar species

White Ibis is much smaller with an all-feathered head and a thin, downcurved red bill. American White Pelican is far bulkier with a huge orange bill and black flight feathers, but has a feathered head. No other native North American stork overlaps in range, making the bald head and heavy bill diagnostic within the region.

Wood Storks inhabit freshwater marshes, cypress swamps, mangrove estuaries, and other shallow wetlands where receding water concentrates fish into small pools. In the United States they breed primarily in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and along the Gulf Coast, with the population having expanded northward in recent decades.

The species' broader range extends through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America, where it is a widespread resident. U.S. breeders may disperse widely after the nesting season, and the species was downlisted from Endangered to Threatened in the U.S. in 2014 following population recovery tied to wetland restoration.

Wood Storks forage using a technique called grope-feeding or tactolocation: they wade through shallow water with the bill open and partly submerged, snapping it shut the instant it contacts prey, regardless of visibility. This makes them highly dependent on shrinking pools of concentrated fish, which is why their breeding often coincides with seasonal wetland drawdowns.

They are largely silent away from the nest, communicating mainly through bill-clattering displays. Wood Storks nest colonially in large trees over water, often alongside herons and egrets, building bulky stick nests. Both parents incubate the 2-5 eggs and feed the young by regurgitation; successful breeding is closely tied to adequate food availability during the nesting season.