Wood Stork

Adults have predominantly white plumage with contrasting black flight feathers (primaries and secondaries) and a black tail. The head and upper neck are bare and dark gray to black. Juveniles have duller grayish necks with some feathering on the crown and a yellowish bill.

Large white body, distinctive dark scaly head and neck, heavy curved bill, long dark legs, and black tail and wingtips.

Length: 85-105 cm (33-41 in); Wingspan: 150-180 cm (59-71 in); Weight: 2-3 kg (4.4-6.6 lbs).

Generally silent except at the nesting colony, where they produce low croaking sounds, hisses, and bill-clattering displays.

Primarily small fish (such as sunfish and minnows), as well as frogs, snakes, and large aquatic invertebrates. They use tactile foraging, sweeping their slightly open bills through water to sense prey.

Freshwater and brackish wetlands, swamps, cypress ponds, flooded pastures, and mangrove swamps.

Mainly resident, though northern populations in the US may disperse widely northward after the breeding season.

Nests in colonies high in trees (often cypress or mangroves) over standing water. Females lay a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the altricial chicks.

Great Egret (seen standing beside the wood stork in the image) and American White Ibis. The wood stork is easily distinguished by its heavy, decurved dark bill, unfeathered dark head, and black flight feathers.

Wood storks act as apex predators in aquatic food webs, and their nesting success is considered an important bioindicator of the health of wetland ecosystems, particularly the Florida Everglades.

IUCN Least Concern globally, though historically listed as Endangered in the US due to habitat loss; populations have recovered sufficiently in recent decades to be downlisted to Threatened.

Look for them in shallow wetlands, swamps, and flooded agricultural fields. Because they soar in circles high in the sky, scanning overhead on warm days can be productive.

The wood stork is the only species of stork that regularly breeds in North America. They rely on drying pools where fish become concentrated to feed efficiently enough to support raising young.