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{{automatic Taxobox
| taxon = Ciconiidae
| name = Storks
| image = Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) in Kolkata I IMG 0495.png
| image_caption = Immature [[Asian Openbill Stork]]
| display_parents = 3
| parent_authority = [[Bonaparte]], 1854
| authority = Sundevall, 1836
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genera]]
| subdivision = {{Linked species list
| Leptoptilos | 
| Ciconia | 
| Jabiru | 
| Ephippiorhynchus | 
| Anastomus | 
| Mycteria | 
}}
}}

'''Storks''' are large, long-legged, long-necked wading [[bird]]s with long, stout [[Beak|bills]]. They belong to the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Ciconiidae'''. They are the only family in the biological order '''[[Ciconiiformes]]''', which was once much larger and held a number of families. 

Storks occur in many regions of the world and tend to live in drier habitats than the related [[heron]]s, [[spoonbill]]s and [[ibis]]es; they also lack the [[powder down]] that those groups use to clean off [[fish]] slime. Storks have no [[Syrinx (biology)|syrinx]] and are mute, giving no [[bird call|call]]; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork [[Animal communication|communication]] at the nest. Many species are [[bird migration|migratory]]. Most storks eat [[frog]]s, [[fish]], [[insect]]s, [[earthworm]]s, small [[bird]]s and small [[mammal]]s. There are 19 living [[species]] of storks in six [[genera]].

Various terms are used to refer to groups of storks,<ref>[http://oilspillwildlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70 ''About the Wood Stork: Denizens of the Wetlands''], Accessed on 13.12.2010</ref> two frequently used ones being a muster of storks and a phalanx of storks.

Storks tend to use [[Lift (soaring)|soaring]], gliding flight, which conserves energy.  Soaring requires [[thermal]] air currents.  [[Ottomar Anschütz]]'s famous 1884 album of photographs of storks inspired the design of [[Otto Lilienthal]]'s experimental [[Glider aircraft|gliders]] of the late 19th century. Storks are heavy, with wide [[wingspan]]s: the [[Marabou Stork]], with a wingspan of 3.2&nbsp;m (10.5&nbsp;ft), joins the [[Andean Condor]] in having the widest wingspan of all living land birds.

Their [[bird nest|nests]] are often very large and may be used for many years. Some nests have been known to grow to over 2&nbsp;m (6&nbsp;ft) in diameter and about 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) in depth. Storks were once thought to be [[monogamy|monogamous]], but this is only partially true. They may change mates after [[bird migration|migrations]], and may migrate without a mate. They tend to be attached to [[bird nest|nests]] as much as partners.{{fact|date=October 2011}}

Storks' size, serial monogamy, and faithfulness to an established nesting site contribute to their prominence in [[mythology]] and culture.

==Etymology==
The [[modern English]] word can be traced back to [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*sturkaz''. Nearly every Germanic language has a descendant of this proto-language word to indicate the ([[White Stork|White]]) stork. Related names also occur in some [[Eastern Europe]]an languages, originating as Germanic [[loanword]]s.

According to the ''New [[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the Germanic root is probably related to the modern English "stark", in reference to the stiff or rigid posture of a European species, the [[White Stork]]. A non-Germanic word linked to it may be [[Greek language|Greek]] ''torgos'' ("vulture").

In some [[West Germanic languages]] cognate words of a different etymology exist. They originate from ''*uda-faro'', ''uda'' being related to ''water'' meaning something like ''swamp'' or ''moist area'' and ''faro'' being related to ''fare''; so ''*uda-faro'' is something like ''he who walks in the swamp''. In later times this name got reanalysed as ''*ōdaboro'', ''ōda'' "fortune, wealth" + ''boro'' "bearer" meaning ''he who brings wealth'' adding to the myth of storks as maintainers of welfare and bringers of children.

In [[Estonian language|Estonian]], "stork" is ''toonekurg'', which is derived from ''toonela'' ([[underworld]] in Estonian folklore) + ''kurg'' ([[Crane (bird)|crane]]). It may seem not to make sense to associate the now-common [[White Stork]] with death, but at the times storks were named, the now-rare [[Black Stork]] was probably the more common species.

==Systematics==
[[File:Painted Stork.jpg|thumb|right|[[Painted Stork]], ''Mycteria leucocephala'']]
[[File:Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) near Hodal I Picture 2021.jpg|thumb|right|[[Black-necked Stork]], ''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'']]
[[Image:- Leptoptilos crumeniferus -.jpg|thumb|right|[[Marabou Stork]], ''Leptoptilos crumeniferus'']]
[[File:Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) with Black-headed Ibises & Painted Stork W2 IMG 9730.jpg|thumb|Woolly-necked Stork ''[[Ciconia episcopus]]'' with [[Black-headed Ibis]] ]]
[[File:Stork on Avila cathedral flying buttress.jpg|thumb|right|A [[White Stork]] on a [[flying buttress]] in [[Ávila, Spain]].]]
[[File:CigüeñaenÁvila.jpg|thumb|right|A [[White Stork]] in flight]]
Following the development of research techniques in [[molecular biology]] in the late 20th century, in particular methods for studying [[DNA-DNA hybridization]], a great deal of new information has surfaced, much of it suggesting that many birds, although looking very different from one another, are in fact more closely related than was previously thought. Accordingly, the radical and influential [[Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy]] greatly enlarged the Ciconiiformes, adding many more families, including most of those usually regarded as belonging to the Sphenisciformes ([[penguin]]s), Gaviiformes ([[loon|divers]]), Podicipediformes ([[grebe]]s), [[Procellariiformes]] (tube-nosed seabirds), [[Charadriiformes]], ([[wader]]s, [[gull]]s, [[tern]]s and [[auk]]s), [[Pelecaniformes]] ([[pelican]]s, [[cormorant]]s, [[gannet]]s and allies), and the [[Falconiformes]] ([[bird of prey|diurnal birds of prey]]). The [[flamingo]] family, Phoenicopteridae, is related, and is sometimes classed as part of the Ciconiiformes.

However, morphological evidence suggests that the traditional Ciconiiformes should be split between two lineages, rather than expanded, although some non-traditional Ciconiiformes may be included in these two lineages.

The exact [[taxonomic]] placement of [[New World vulture]]s remains unclear.<ref name="SACC"/> Though both are similar in appearance and have similar [[Ecological niche|ecological roles]], the New World and [[Old World vultures]] evolved from different ancestors in different parts of the world and are not closely related. Just how different the two families are is currently under debate, with some earlier authorities suggesting that the New World vultures belong in Ciconiiformes.<ref name="SibleyMonroe">[[Charles Sibley|Sibley, Charles G.]] and Burt L. Monroe.  1990.  ''[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300049692 Distribution and Taxonomy of the Birds of the World]''.  [[Yale University Press]].  ISBN 0-300-04969-2.  Accessed 11 April 2007.</ref> More recent authorities maintain their overall position in the order [[Falconiformes]] along with the Old World Vultures<ref>[[Charles Sibley|Sibley, Charles G.]], and [[Jon Edward Ahlquist|Jon E. Ahlquist]].  1991.  ''[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300040857 Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution]''.  Yale University Press.  ISBN 0-300-04085-7.  Accessed 11 April 2007.</ref> or place them in their own order, Cathartiformes.<ref>Ericson, Per G. P.; Anderson, Cajsa L.; Britton, Tom; Elżanowski, Andrzej; Johansson, Ulf S.; Kallersjö, Mari; Ohlson, Jan I.; Parsons, Thomas J.; Zuccon, Dario & Mayr, Gerald (2006): Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils. ''[[Biology Letters]]'' online: 1-5. {{DOI|10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523}} [http://www.systbot.uu.se/staff/c_anderson/pdf/neoaves.pdf PDF preprint] [http://royalsociety.metapress.com/media/public/contributionsupplementalmaterials/0/5/8/3/058352377848735w/archive1.pdf Electronic Supplementary Material] (PDF)</ref> The [[South American Classification Committee]] has removed the New World Vultures from Ciconiiformes and instead placed them in ''[[Incertae sedis]]'', but notes that a move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is possible.<ref name="SACC">Remsen, J. V., Jr.; C. D. Cadena; A. Jaramillo; M. Nores; J. F. Pacheco; M. B. Robbins; T. S. Schulenberg; F. G. Stiles; D. F. Stotz & K. J. Zimmer. 2007. [http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html ''A classification of the bird species of South America.''] South American Classification Committee. Retrieved on 15 October 2007</ref>

Some official bodies have adopted the proposed Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy almost entirely; however, a more common approach worldwide has been to retain the traditional groupings, and modify rather than replace them in the light of new evidence as it comes to hand. The family listing here follows this more conservative practice. Bird taxonomy has been in a state of flux for some years, and it is reasonable to expect that the large differences between different classification schemes will continue gradually to resolve themselves as more evidence becomes available.

Recently a DNA study found that the families [[Ardeidae]], [[Balaenicipitidae]], [[Scopidae]] and the [[Threskiornithidae]] belong to the Pelecaniformes. This would make [[Ciconiidae]] the only group.

Storks were distinct and possibly widespread by the Oligocene. Like most families of aquatic birds, storks seem to have arisen in the [[Paleogene|Palaeogene]], maybe 40-50 [[million years ago]] (mya). For the fossil record of living genera, documented since the [[Middle Miocene]] (about 15 mya) at least in some cases, see the genus articles.

Though some storks are highly threatened, no species or subspecies are known to have gone [[extinct]] in historic times. A ''Ciconia'' bone found in a [[rock shelter]] on the island of [[Réunion]] was probably of a bird taken there as food by early settlers; no known account mentions the presence of storks on the [[Mascarene Islands]].

===Living storks===
* Genus ''[[Mycteria]]''
** [[Milky Stork]], ''Mycteria cinerea''
** [[Yellow-billed Stork]], ''Mycteria ibis''
** [[Painted Stork]], ''Mycteria leucocephala''
** [[Wood Stork]], ''Mycteria americana''
* Genus ''[[Anastomus]]''
** [[Asian Openbill]], ''Anastomus oscitans''
** [[African Openbill]], ''Anastomus lamelligerus''
* Genus ''[[Ciconia]]''
** [[Abdim's Stork]], ''Ciconia abdimii''
** [[Woolly-necked Stork]], ''Ciconia episcopus''
** [[Storm's Stork]], ''Ciconia stormi''
** [[Maguari Stork]], ''Ciconia maguari''
** [[Oriental Stork]], ''Ciconia boyciana'' (formerly in ''C. ciconia'')
** [[White Stork]], ''Ciconia ciconia''
** [[Black Stork]], ''Ciconia nigra''
* Genus ''[[Ephippiorhynchus]]''
** [[Black-necked Stork]], ''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus''
** [[Saddle-billed Stork]], ''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis''
* Genus ''Jabiru''
** [[Jabiru]], ''Jabiru mycteria''
* Genus ''[[Leptoptilos]]''
** [[Lesser Adjutant]], ''Leptoptilos javanicus''
** [[Greater Adjutant]], ''Leptoptilos dubius''
** [[Marabou Stork]], ''Leptoptilos crumeniferus''

===Fossil storks===
*Genus ''[[Palaeoephippiorhynchus]]'' ([[fossil]]: Early Oligocene of Fayyum, Egypt)<!-- ActaPaleontolPol50:549 -->
*Genus ''Grallavis'' ([[fossil]]: Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France, and Djebel Zelten, Libya) - may be same as ''Prociconia''
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. (Ituzaingó Late Miocene of Paraná, Argentina)<ref>[[Tarsometatarsus]] fragments somewhat similar to ''Mycteria'': Cione ''et al.'' (2000), Noriega & Cladera (2005)</ref>
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. (Puerto Madryn Late Miocene of Punta Buenos Aires, Argentina)<ref>Specimen [[Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio|MEF]] 1363: Incomplete skeleton of a large stork somewhat similar to ''Jabiru'' but apparently more [[plesiomorph]]ic: Noriega & Cladera (2005)</ref>
*Genus ''Prociconia'' ([[fossil]]: Late Pleistocene of Brazil) - may belong to modern genus ''Jabiru'' or ''Ciconia''<!-- Evolution39:1174 -->
*Genus ''Pelargosteon'' ([[fossil]]: Early Pleistocene of Romania)
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. - formerly ''Aquilavus/Cygnus bilinicus'' ([[fossil]]: Early Miocene of Břešťany, Czechia)
*cf. ''Leptoptilos'' gen. et sp. indet. - formerly ''L. siwalicensis'' ([[fossil]]: Late Miocene? - Late Pliocene of Siwalik, India)<ref>Specimens [[BMNH]] 39741 (holotype, left [[proximal]] [[tarsometatarsus]]) and BMNH 39734 (right [[distal]] [[tibiotarsus]]). Similar to ''Ephippiorhynchus'' and ''Leptotilos'', may be from a small female of ''Leptotilos falconeri'', from ''L. dubius'', or from another species: Louchart ''et al.'' (2005)</ref>
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. ([[fossil]]: Late Pleistocene of San Josecito Cavern, Mexico)<ref>[[Distal]] [[radius (bone)|radius]] of a mid-sized ''Ciconia'' or smallish ''Mycteria'': Steadman ''et al.'' (1994)</ref>

The fossil genera ''Eociconia'' (middle Eocene of China) and ''Ciconiopsis'' (Deseado Early Oligocene of Patagonia, Argentina) are often tentatively placed with this family. A "ciconiiform" fossil fragment from the Touro Passo Formation found at Arroio Touro Passo ([[Rio Grande do Sul]], [[Brazil]]) might be of the living [[Wood Stork]] ''M. americana''; it is at most of [[Late Pleistocene]] age, a few 10.000s of years.<ref>Schmaltz Hsou (2007)</ref>

==Mythology of storks==
[[File:The Frogs Who Desired a King - Project Gutenberg etext 19994.jpg|thumb|[[King Stork]] devouring one of his frog subjects, an illustration by [[Milo Winter]] in a 1919 [[Aesop]] anthology]]
* An ancient etymology about the [[Pelasgians]], ancient pre-Hellenic inhabitants of Greece, links ''pelasgos'' to ''pelargos'' "stork", and postulates that the Pelasgians were migrants like storks, possibly from [[Egypt]], where they nest.<ref>[[Strabo]] refers to this in ''Geography'' Book V, Section II, Part 4.</ref> [[Aristophanes]] deals effectively with this etymology in his comedy ''[[The Birds (play)|the Birds]].'' One of the laws of "the storks" in the satirical cloud-cuckoo-land (punning on the Athenian belief that they were originally Pelasgians) is that grown-up storks must support their parents by migrating elsewhere and conducting warfare.<ref>Line 1355 and following.</ref>
* In [[Aesop]]'s tale "[[The Frogs Who Desired a King]]" the [[frog]]s ask Zeus for a king, and he first sends them the ineffective King Log and then the [[King Stork]] who devours his frog subjects. In this context, viewed from the point of view of a frog who may get eaten by a stork, the stork is the symbol of tyrannical power.
* In English folk mythology and [[old wives' tale]]s, storks deliver newborn babies to mothers by dropping them down chimneys.  This is the origin of the phrase "Dr. Stork" to refer to an [[obstetrician]].

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Cione, Alberto Luis; de las Mercedes Azpelicueta, María; Bond, Mariano; Carlini, Alfredo A.; Casciotta, Jorge R.; Cozzuol, Mario Alberto; de la Fuente, Marcelo; Gasparini, Zulma; Goin, Francisco J.; Noriega, Jorge; Scillatoyané, Gustavo J.; Soibelzon, Leopoldo; Tonni, Eduardo Pedro; Verzi, Diego & Guiomar Vucetich, María (2000): Miocene vertebrates from Entre Ríos province, eastern Argentina. [English with Spanish abstract] ''In:''  Aceñolaza, F.G. & Herbst, R. (eds.): El Neógeno de Argentina. ''INSUGEO Serie Correlación Geológica'' '''14''': 191-237. [http://web.archive.org/web/20081010045359/http://www.unt.edu.ar/fcsnat/INSUGEO/libro_neogeno/neogeno_argentina.pdf PDF fulltext]
* Friedwald, Will & Beck, Jerry (1981): ''The Warner Brothers Cartoons''. Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J.. <small>ISBN 0-8108-1396-3</small>
* Louchart, Antoine; Vignaud, Patrick; Likius, Andossa; Brunet, Michel & and White, Tim D. (2005): A large extinct marabou stork in African Pliocene hominid sites, and a review of the fossil species of ''Leptoptilos''. ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' '''50'''(3): 549–563. [http://web.archive.org/web/20070221172119/http://www.app.pan.pl/acta50/app50-549.pdf PDF fulltext]
* Noriega, Jorge Ignacio & Cladera, Gerardo (2005): ''First Record of Leptoptilini (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae) in the Neogene of South America''. Abstracts of Sixth International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution: 47. [http://web.archive.org/web/20070221194421/http://nrm.museum/ve/birds/sape/SAPE_abstracts_2004.pdf PDF fulltext]
* Schmaltz Hsou, Annie (2007): O estado atual do registro fóssil de répteis e aves no Pleistoceno do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil ["The current state of the fossil record of Pleistocene reptiles and birds of Rio Grande do Sul"]. Talk held on 2007-JUN-20 at ''Quaternário do RS: integrando conhecimento'', Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. [http://www6.ufrgs.br/alpp/Resumos_Quaternario_RS.pdf PDF abstract]
* Steadman, David W.; Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquin; Johnson, Eileen & Guzman, A. Fabiola (1994): New Information on the Late Pleistocene Birds from San Josecito Cave, Nuevo León, Mexico. ''[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]'' '''96'''(3): 577-589. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/DJVU/v096n03/P0577-P0589.djvu DjVu fulltext] [http://web.archive.org/web/20100808092958/http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v096n03/p0577-p0589.pdf PDF fulltext]
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://f01.middlebury.edu/FS010A/STUDENTS/n111.htm Scott MacDonald, "The Stork"] emblematic uses
*[http://www.ebepe.com/html/stork.html Storks] Image documentation
*[http://www.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=22 Stork videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

===Sister project links===
{{commonscat-inline|Ciconiidae}}
{{wikispecies-inline|Ciconiidae}}
{{wiktionary-inline|Ciconiidae}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=stork}}

{{Birds}}
{{Storks}}

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