SOFIA Kid's Page - Critters

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)

wood stork

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

Wood storks are large wading birds that stand about 4 feet tall. They are mostly white and are easily recognized by their featherless head and neck. Wood storks like to roost and feed together. They catch fish by wading in the water with their beak dragging until it touches a fish.

In order to breed successfully, wood storks need large numbers of fish. In Florida's winter dry season, the fish are plentiful in the smaller water holes. When water management practices delay the winter drying season, the storks begin nesting later thus when the spring rains disperse the fish, the storks prematurely abandon their nests and young (Toops, 1998). Mostly due to alteration of habitat and habitat loss, wood storks are an endangered species.

Reference:
Toops, Connie. "The Florida everglades." Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, Inc., 1998.

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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Coastal Geology
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Last updated: 11 October, 2002 @ 09:43 PM (KP)