Far Eastern Stork (Ciconia Boyciana) belongs to the aistory detachment, the aistor family. Until 1873 it was considered a subspecies of a white stork. Entered into the Red Book as an endangered view. The scientists suggest that at this time only 2500 representatives of this type of fauna remained on Earth.
In various sources, it is called differently:
Description
It has a white-black plumage: the back, stomach and head-white, ends of the wings and tail-dark. The length of the body of the bird up to 130 cm, weighs 5-6 kilograms, the wings in the scale reach 2 meters. The legs are long, covered with thick skin of a reddish shade. Around the eye apples there is a neoperic area with pink skin.
The beak is the main distinguishing feature of the Far Eastern stork. If the usual white storks have a saturated scarlet color, then this representative of the aistor is dark. In addition, this feathered is much more massive than its fellow and is better adapted to survival in adverse conditions, sufficiently hardy, can overcome long distances without stopping and resting, simply maneuvering through the air. He has a fairly long period of growing up. Complete puberty of individuals occurs only by the fourth year of life.
Habitat
Most often settles near reservoirs, rice fields and swampy places. He chooses places for nesting on oaks, birches, larch and various types of coniferous trees. Due to the cutting of forests, the nests of this feathered can be seen on the pillars of highvoltage power lines. The nests are quite massive, their width is up to 2 meters. The material for them is branches, leaves, feathers and fluff.
They begin to nest in April, often in laying from 2 to 6 eggs. The period of hatching of the chicks lasts up to a month, the process of hatching young animals is not easy, between the appearance of each of the cubs can pass up to 7 days. If the masonry is dying, the couple lays eggs again. Aystyata is inappropriate for independent survival and require constant attention from adults. In October, the Far Eastern storks go into groups and migrate to the place of wintering to the mouths of the Yangtzi River and Lake Izanhu in China.
The habitat of the bird
Food
Far Eastern storks prefer exclusively food of animal origin. They can often be seen in shallow water, where they, walking through the water, are looking for frogs, small fish, snails and tadpoles, do not disdain also leeches, water beetles, mollusks. On land they get mice, snakes, snakes, occasionally they can enjoy other people’s chicks.
Aystyat fed frogs and fish. Adults fly alternately for prey, swallow it and burp halfdigested food straight into the nest, in the heat of the cubs from the beak, create a shadow above them, widely spreading the wings in the form of an umbrella.
Interesting Facts
- The life expectancy of the Far Eastern Stork 40 years. In living nature, only a few live to such a respectable age, most often birds living in captivity become oldtimers.
- Adults of this species do not make sounds, they lose their voice in early childhood and can only click loudly with their beak, thus attracting the attention of their relatives.
- Hate people of people, they are not even close to settlements. They feel a person from afar and fly away when he came into their field.
- If the stork falls out of the nest, parents can continue to take care of it right on the ground.
- These birds are very attached both to each other and their nests. They are monogamous and choose a couple for many years, until the death of one of the spouses. Also from year to year, the couple returns to their place of nesting and begins to build a new house only if the old one is destroyed to the ground.
