White Stork

Ciconia ciconia

The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a bird found in Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and Poland. Wet meadows in Europe; winters in Africa. It eats reptiles and frogs, insects and other small invertebrates and small mammals and birds. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Ciconia ciconia
Region	Europe
Found in	Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and Poland

🏡 Where the White Stork lives

Wet meadows in Europe; winters in Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🦎 Reptiles & frogs40%
🐛 Insects & bugs20%
🐭 Mammals & birds20%
🐟 Fish20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Storks build huge nests on rooftops and chimneys, and return every year.

Hear the White Stork

Recorded by Le Louaver Manuel (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1041542. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the White Stork

Where does the White Stork live?

The White Stork lives in Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal and Poland. Wet meadows in Europe; winters in Africa.

What does the White Stork eat?

reptiles and frogs (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), small mammals and birds (about 20%), fish (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the White Stork endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.