White Stork: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Storks and Shorebirds · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. White storks use a tool to give chicks a drink: they wring out moss in their beak so water falls into the chicks' mouths.
2. Both parents build a huge stick nest, 1 to 2 m deep and weighing 60 to 250 kg. It may be used for several years.
3. In spring white storks spend roughly 49 days drifting north. In autumn they sprint south in just 26 days.
4. Storks avoid flying over the Mediterranean. The thermals they soar on do not form over water, so they detour around it.
5. Flapping flight is estimated to burn 23 times more body fat than soaring, per distance travelled.

The quiz

1. How do white storks give water to their chicks?

• By carrying water in their feet
• By spitting it from a stream
• By squeezing moss to drip water (correct)
• By splashing them with their wings

They wring out moss in their beak so water falls into the chicks' mouths.

2. How much can a white stork nest weigh?

• Up to 250 kg (correct)
• Up to 2 kg
• Up to 20 kg
• Up to 2,500 kg

A white stork nest can weigh 60 to 250 kg.

3. How long does the autumn trip south take?

• 14 days
• 26 days (correct)
• 49 days
• 90 days

Storks sprint south in autumn in just 26 days.

4. Why do storks avoid crossing the Mediterranean?

• The sea is too wide for their eyes
• There is no food above water
• Strong tides push them back
• Thermals do not form over water (correct)

The thermals storks soar on do not form over water.

5. Compared with soaring, how much more fat does flapping burn?

• 2 times more
• 5 times more
• 23 times more (correct)
• 10 times more

Flapping is estimated to burn 23 times more body fat than soaring.

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