Wood Stork

Since I went out today to find the Wood Storks, it seems only right to post a picture of them today. Wood storks breed in the southeastern United States and are the only stork to breed in the U.S. They also breed in Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina. The U.S. populations are endangered as their habitat is being swallowed up by development. These waders feed on minnows in shallow water by using their bills to perform a rare and effective fishing technique. The stork opens its bill and sticks it into the water, then waits for the touch of an unfortunate fish that wanders too close. When it feels a fish, the stork can snap its bill shut in as little as 25 milliseconds, an incredibly quick reaction time matched by few other vertebrates. Wood storks are social animals. They feed in flocks and nest in large rookeries,sometimes several pairs to a single tree. An average nesting pair, with two fledglings, may eat over 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of fish during a single breeding season. The other birds I had to pass up are here