Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Chandra_Jennings/Great Backyard Bird Count Participant
Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
| Conservation status | Population of southeastern United States was reportedly over 150,000 at one time, but by early 1990s probably not much over 10,000. Destruction of habitat and disruption of water flow through southern Florida were major causes of decline. Breeding population of far southern Florida has dropped sharply since 1970s, some of these birds apparently shifting north; has expanded breeding range north to South Carolina recently. |
|---|---|
| Family | Storks |
| Habitat | Cypress swamps (nesting colonies); marshes, ponds, lagoons. Forages mainly in fresh water, including shallow marshes, flooded farm fields, ponds, ditches. Favors falling water levels (when fish and other prey likely to be more concentrated in remaining pools). Nests mainly in stands of tall cypress, also sometimes in mangroves, dead trees in flooded impoundments. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages mainly by wading in shallow water with head down, bill in water and partly open; quickly snaps bill shut when it makes contact with prey. Can locate prey by touch or sight.
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 2-5. Whitish. Incubation is by both sexes, 28-32 days. Young: Fed by both parents. During first 5 weeks or so, one parent usually guards young; unguarded nests may be attacked by unmated storks wandering through colony. Young may make short flights at about 8 weeks, but return to nest to be fed and to sleep until about 11 weeks old.
Young
Fed by both parents. During first 5 weeks or so, one parent usually guards young; unguarded nests may be attacked by unmated storks wandering through colony. Young may make short flights at about 8 weeks, but return to nest to be fed and to sleep until about 11 weeks old.
Diet
Mostly fish. Eats a wide variety of fish, especially minnows, killifish, mullet. Also crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects, snakes, baby alligators, small turtles, frogs, rodents, some seeds and other plant material.
Nesting
Breeds in colonies. Nests in winter and spring in Florida, where water levels (because of their impact on food supply) may dictate timing. In some years, may not attempt to nest at all. Nest site depends on colony location; may be 10-15' above water in mangroves, 80' or higher in cypress, usually well out on horizontal limb. Nest is flimsy platform of sticks, lined with twigs and leaves; male brings most materials, female may do most of building. Some sticks added to nest even after young hatch.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
Dull croak. Usually silent except around nest. Young make clattering noises with their bills.How climate change could affect this bird's range
In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.
Read more: climate.audubon.org
Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
Wood Stork In the News More News
Conservation
Last Year’s Everglades Breeding Bonanza Was the Biggest in More Than 80 Years
An official report says that South Florida's wading birds had an even better 2018 than we thought.
Conservation
Invasive Pythons Are Targeting Florida’s Wading Bird Colonies
A pair of studies fuel worries that the out-of-control snakes could undermine the birds’ recovery despite Everglades restoration.
Audubon Advisory
Diverse Alliance Emerges to Protect Birds from Proposed Dam on Mississippi’s Pearl River
2018 has been a landmark year for Audubon Mississippi’s efforts to protect the Pearl River from an ill-conceived, destructive project locally
