White storks grow to more than 3 feet in height with long necks and bare red legs. Their pointed red bills make identifying them easy. The stork's body consists mostly of white feathers, except for its wing feathers that appear black with a bit of purple and green iridescence. Both male and female storks look alike, although the males grow slightly larger. Juvenile white storks look somewhat different with brown legs and black bills that turn red as they get older.
The birds migrate to various places to find a warmer climate during the winter and many fly to tropical areas of Africa. The storks do not like crossing large bodies of waters because the thermal air currents they rely on to soar do not help them over the water. Instead, the birds from the European population cross the Mediterranean Sea at the Strait of Gibraltar, or they fly through the Middle East to circle around the water. The rest of the storks winter in India.
During migration, flocks of storks may rely on abundant food sources in a particular area, with tens of thousands of the birds landing in one spot. According the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, 100,000 storks showed up Tanzania in a 15-mile long area to eat army-worms severely infesting the area. Storks also eat insects, frogs, fish, mollusks and tadpoles. The birds also eat prey such as snakes, lizards, baby birds from ground nests and earthworms.
White storks use little vocal communication. Instead, they rely on a variety of bill-clattering noises. Sometimes the birds make a sound that sounds similar to machine gun fire when their upper and lower mandible click together rapidly. Once the male and female raise their young, they spend the rest of the year on their own.
During breeding season, white storks nest fairly close together in small colonies. In Spain, one roof contained nine pairs of nesting storks, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Males return to the nest sites first, then use various displays to attract a female. The nest consists of a bulky compilation of twigs and grasses as well as man-made objects including paper and rags. Even though the storks use old nests, they usually add new material. The female then lays three to five eggs, and both parents help incubate the eggs. Once the chicks are born, it takes them eight to nine weeks to leave the nest for the first time.
