Mycteria americana
The Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) is a large, striking wading bird, the only native stork breeding in North America. Adults stand an impressive 85-115 cm (33-45 in) tall with a wingspan of 1.5-1.8 meters (59-71 inches) and weigh between 2-3 kg (4.4-6.6 lbs). Its most distinctive field marks are its entirely white body plumage contrasting sharply with its bald, dark olive-gray to brownish head and neck, and its thick, dark, decurved bill. In flight, the black primary and secondary flight fea...
Found primarily in freshwater and brackish wetlands, including cypress swamps, sloughs, marshes, estuaries, and impoundments, typically at low elevations.
Feeds primarily on small fish (minnows, killifish), amphibians (frogs, salamanders), crustaceans, and large aquatic insects, employing a tactile foraging method.
Wood Storks are diurnal foragers, spending their nights roosting communally in tall trees, often over water, which provides protection from predators. Their primary foraging strategy is 'tasto-location' or 'tacto-location': they wade through shallow water with their partially open bill submerged,...
The Wood Stork's range spans across the Neotropics and into the southeastern United States. In North America, its primary breeding range includes Florida (hosting the largest U.S. population), Georgia, South Carolina, and limited areas of North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas...
Least Concern
- The Wood Stork is the only stork species native to North America. - It employs a unique foraging method called 'tasto-location' or 'tacto-location,' wherein it wades with its bill submerged and snaps it shut by touch, not sight, when prey is detected. This reaction time is among the fastest of ...