Wood Stork
This would be the ugly mug of the Wood Stork. I only say that because the top and back of the head on the adult bird reminds me of an alien in a sci-fi film I occasionally watched on VHS when I was a kid. Any of you ever see the film, Enemy Mine, with Dennis Quaid and Louis Gosset Jr? The top-back section of an adult Wood Stork’s head reminds me of a Drac’s head and skin from the film. They look a bit brown, tough, and scaly. I found it surprising really as I haven’t seen a bird with a head quite like this before. It looks pretty neat zoomed in. These birds are very large and they are the only stork that breed in the United States. Sometimes referred to as a Wood Ibis, their wingspan can be from 59-68 inches! I photographed two different Wood Storks. One obviously has a bald head and the other, a juvenile, did not. As far as sounds go, I really like this bird. It reminds me a little of what a group of frogs sounded like on a pond back at the home I grew up in. We called them ‘peepers’. Click this link to hear a sample audio clip of this bird.
What, you thought I’d forget more facts?
Wood Storks have been known to fly as high as 6000 feet. They will fly as much as 50 miles just to search for food.
They nest above water to prevent predators such as raccoons from feeding on their eggs and young.
Scientific Name: Mycteria Americana – Order: Ciconiiformes – Family: Ciconiidae
Photographed a few Wood Stork yesterday. Mean looking things but they seemed nice enough, they were relaxing with a bunch of White Ibis’s
Reblogged this on Pierre Cenerelli's Blog and commented:
I’d love to see these one day…
Well, they may not be delicate, exactly, but they’re still impressive and would like to see one…
Thanks for the comments! Agreed, they have an interesting look about them and they are impressive.
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