Black stork: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the black stork lives – recorded in 52 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ciconia nigra
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	52 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe
Class	Bird
Order	Ciconiiformes
Family	Ciconiidae

Where does the black stork live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the black stork in 52 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Europe. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Burkina Faso. In Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the black stork endangered?

The black stork’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the black stork?

The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a bird in the order Ciconiiformes and the family Ciconiidae, genus Ciconia. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the black stork

The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Measuring on average 95 to 100 cm (37 to 39 in) from beak tip to end of tail with a 145-to-155 cm (57-to-61 in) wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage, with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A widespread but uncommon species, it breeds in scattered locations across Europe (predominantly in Portugal and Spain, and central and eastern parts), and east across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing broad expanses of the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east, the Strait of Sicily in the center, or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west. An isolated non-migratory population lives in Southern Africa.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Black stork (revision 1376048354), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q25398 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).