What We Know About Black Storks

Cameras Watching over Black Storks nest
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Migration: Stopover Places

New insights into fall passage ecology and behaviour of black storks (Ciconia nigra) at Dumbrăvița fishing complex (central Romania)
Dan Traian IONESCU, Mihaela CIOBOTĂ, Adina-Luminița MILAC, Andreea CIOBOTĂ and Dumitru MURARIU
Abstract: The Dumbrăviţa Fishing Complex (Braşov, Romania) represents one of the most important Transylvanian stopovers for the black stork’s (Ciconia nigra) fall passage. This study aims to prove the importance of adequate, species-synchronized drainage management of large ponds to maximize site potential as foraging area for black stork fall migrants, as well as to provide detailed recording of a new foraging pattern for this species. Throughout 4 consecutive fall passages (August-September; 2013-2016), black storks were monitored weekly, during evening foraging. Compared to bibliographical data (1995), the assessment of maximum numbers variation revealed a clear increase in numbers for the last 4 years, attributing highest values observed to passage- synchronized drainage of the largest ponds. Pond focused analysis of fall passage peak numbers variation highlighted a positive impact of passage-timed water discharge on the occurrence of higher values for foraging groups. Regarding feeding ethology, foraging black storks were observed exclusively along the most vegetated shores, some groups displaying a new foraging pattern: repeated line feeding, deeper water-dependent and potentially attributed to water currents. Foraging associations involved three Ardeidae species, with antagonistic behaviour only towards some Ardea cinerea individuals. Lastly, we propose the drainage of large ponds during the moments of maximum intensity for the black stork’s fall passage.
https://biozoojournals.ro/nwjz/content/ ... iobota.pdf

Contributed by Liz01
The use of stopover sites by Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) migrating between West Europe and West Africa as revealed by satellite telemetry
Dominique P. Chevallier, Yvon le Maho, Sylvie Massemin
Abstract
Migration is known to be a bottleneck in the annual cycle of many birds, and its success can depend on the availability of stopovers along the migration route. Satellite tracking was used to identify migratory strategies and important stopovers in 16 Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) during their autumn and spring migrations between European breeding areas and West African wintering sites. Some birds migrate without using stopovers, whereas others need to stop at least once during their migration: 1–5 stopovers were observed per bird, and half of all stopovers were located in Spain. Precise GPS locations indicated that it is unlikely that the storks forage near their night roost, just after or before their migratory flights. For the birds that do make stopovers, the tracking data reveal both inter- and intra-individual variability in the use of stopovers over the two migrations, suggesting a lack of fidelity to such sites. The number of stopovers was similar for potential breeders and non-breeders, although the length of stopovers was significantly longer for non-breeders than for potential breeders. No difference in stopover duration was found between autumn and spring migrations. Six stopovers were considered as important ones, based on the time spent there (>10 days). This study underlines the importance of protected areas along migratory paths and the necessity to plan protective measures for those stopover sites.
http://www.academia.edu/download/400394 ... hhb2ml.pdf

Importance of the connectivity of Spanish stopovers for Black Storks
DAMIEN CHEVALLIER, FRANÇOIS BAILLON, YVON LE MAHO, STEPHANE BLANC, PAUL BROSSAULT and SYLVIE MASSEMIN
Abstract: Sixteen Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) were tracked by satellite during their autumnal and spring migrations in order to identify their major stopover sites and connections between stopovers in Europe and Africa. Among journeys with stopovers, the longest distance that a stork travelled without stopover was 2433 km (defined here as ‘accessible distance’) meaning that those storks which have stopovers use only a single stopover on average, and this is usually in Spain. We identified nine crucial stopovers (seven in Spain and two in Africa) with high connectivity highlighting the importance of Spanish stopover locations on the flyway of Black Storks.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10. ... 013.851643

New insights into fall passage ecology and behaviour of black storks (Ciconia nigra) at Dumbrăviţa fishing complex (central Romania).
IONESCU, Dan Traian; CIOBOTĂ, Mihaela; MILAC, Adina-Luminiţa; CIOBOTĂ, Andreea; MURARIU, Dumitru
Abstract: The Dumbrăviţa Fishing Complex (Braşov, Romania) represents one of the most important Transylvanian stopovers for the black stork's (Ciconia nigra) fall passage. This study aims to prove the importance of adequate, species-synchronized drainage management of large ponds to maximize site potential as a foraging area for black stork fall migrants, as well as to provide detailed recording of a new foraging pattern for this species. Throughout 4 consecutive fall passages (August-September; 2013-2016), black storks were monitored weekly, during evening foraging. Compared to bibliographical data (1995), the assessment of maximum numbers variation revealed a clear increase in numbers for the last 4 years, attributing highest values observed to passage synchronized drainage of largest ponds. Pond focused analysis of fall passage peak numbers variation highlighted a positive impact of passage-timed water discharge on the occurrence of higher values for foraging groups. Regarding feeding ethology, foraging black storks were observed exclusively along the most vegetated shores, some groups displaying a new foraging pattern: repeated line feeding, deeper water-dependent and potentially attributed to water currents. Foraging associations involved three Ardeidae species, with antagonistic behaviour only towards some Ardea cinerea individuals. Lastly, we propose the drainage of large ponds during the moments of maximum intensity for the black stork's fall passage.
https://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?di ... d137186658

Migration of Lesser Spotted Eagles and Black Storks in Northern Israel
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY -Thomas Krumenacker
It is well known that Israel is the place to go to witness Bird- and especially raptor migration. Whereas many birdwatchers travel to the country during the spring season and mainly visit the southern Eilat area, the autumn migration takes place nearly without any attention from foreign birdwatchers. This despite the fact that autumn migration of Lesser Spotted Eagles is among the most spectacular wonders of nature one can imagine. A major part of the world-population of this globally endangered bird species passes Israel in a relatively narrow corridor and within a short period of time. Doing research for our upcoming Bird Guide to Israel I spend three weeks in September/October in Northern Israel, joining the Survey team of the Israeli Ornithological Center.
http://www.krumenacker.de/en/lesser_spo ... _Migration

Phenological status and breeding of waterfowl settlement in the wetlands eco-complex of Sétif (High Plateaus, Eastern Algeria).
Naima BAAZIZ, Boualem MAYACHE, Menouar SAHEB, Ettayib BENSACI Makhlouf OUNISSI, Sophia METALLAOUI & Moussa HOUHAMDI
Abstract: Aquatic birds of the wetlands eco-complex of the region of Sétif (High Plateaus of eastern Algeria) have been monitored from September 2004 to August 2008. Throughout this investigation, 79 species belonging to 19 families were identified. The maximum number of recorded individuals was approximately 21,650 individuals observed during October 2006. The five wetlands in this eco- complex play a dual role for the waterfowl as wintering potential sites for 22 species, and nesting habitat for 17 species including 14 sedentary breeding species. Eight breeding species are internationally important: the white-headed duck Oxyura leucocephala, the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, the Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea, the Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna, the Slender-billed Gull Larus genei, the Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica, the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, and the Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta. Sebkhet of Bazer Sakra is the largest and most diversified wetland owing to the number of recorded waterbirds and its richness in species. ...
Ciconiidae
Two species are present: the white stork Ciconia ciconia, very abundant and regularly breeding on these highlands, and the black stork Ciconia nigra, which has the phenological status of migratory species passing through Algeria (Ledant et al., 1981). , Isenmann & Moali 2000). Two individuals were observed three times in a row during the month of June 2005 in the muddy areas of the Sebkhet of Bazer-Sakra, near the white storks. It should be noted that at the slightest disturbance, all the waterfowl of the Sebkhet take flight and that the black storks are the last to touch down again.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Et ... b60a54.pdf


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Migration: The influence of the Weather

Fog and rain lead migrating White storks Ciconia ciconia to perform reverse migration and to land
Alberto Pastorino, Juan Ramírez Roman, Nicolantonio Agostini, Giacomo Dell’0mo, Michele Panuccio
Abstract: Weather is one of the main factors affecting the migratory behaviour of birds. Rain and fog negatively influence bird flight, forcing animals to make long detours or to stop, waiting for better conditions, leading also in extreme cases to mortality events. We monitored spring and autumn bird migration on the continental side of the Strait of Messina, which is the main bottleneck along the Central Mediterranean flyway, in particular for soaring birds. Fieldwork integrated visual observations and radar monitoring. The radar station was located on a mountain highland close to the seacoast, where fog and rain often occurred. During autumn 2016 a flock of White Storks detected by the observers disappeared into an extended fog bank. We could track with the radar the movement of the birds into the fog and the analysis of the trajectories revealed an extremely circuitous flight until the birds stopped. The radar also detected the departure, with birds trying to find a way out of the fog bank. We compared track measurements of this flock with storks tracked during good visibility conditions. Ground-speed and straightness of the tracks showed a marked difference highlighting how fog deeply influenced their flight behaviour.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mi ... o-land.pdf

Migrating birds avoid flying through fog and low clouds 2017
M. Panuccio, G. Dell’Omo, G. Bogliani, Catoni, N. Sapir
Abstract: Different weather conditions are known to affect bird migration, yet the influence of fog and low clouds on migrating birds has been rarely examined so far, and hence, their impact on bird movement is not well understood. Fog avoidance could be a consequence of visual limitations within the fog or may be the outcome of deteriorated soaring conditions due to the obstruction of the sun. We carried out a radar study at the Strait of Messina, which is a bottleneck for migrating birds traversing the Central Mediterranean Sea, to determine if the intensity of diurnal soaring bird migration was influenced by fog and other weather variables. We recorded bird movements using an X-band radar, which can detect birds flying within the fog, and recorded weather conditions using local meteorological observations. We examined if bird passage rate (number of tracks/hour) at the radar site was influenced by fog, wind speed and direction, air temperature and the time of day. Our findings suggest that fog was the most important factor affecting bird migration intensity as recorded by the radar, indicating that birds actively avoided flying into fog. In addition, wind direction affected bird migration intensity, with lower numbers recorded with southerly tailwinds and higher numbers recorded with westerly crosswinds. Our findings highlight a consequence of widespread meteorological conditions, and of fog in particular, on migrating birds, with implications for bird migration navigation, path length and flight energetics.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mi ... clouds.pdf

Contributed by Liz01
Influence of weather conditions on the flight of migrating black storks.
D. Chevallier, Y. Handrich, J.-Y. Georges, F. Baillon, P. Brossault, A. Aurouet, Y. Le Maho and S. Massemin
Published:28 April 2010https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0422

Abstract: This study tested the potential influence of meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, wind direction, thermal convection) on different migration characteristics (namely flight speed, altitude and direction and daily distance) in 16 black storks (Ciconia nigra). The birds were tracked by satellite during their entire autumnal and spring migration, from 1998 to 2006. Our data reveal that during their 27-day-long migration between Europe and Africa (mean distance of 4100 km), the periods of maximum flight activity corresponded to periods of maximum thermal energy, underlining the importance of atmospheric thermal convection in the migratory flight of the black stork. In some cases, tailwind was recorded at the same altitude and position as the birds, and was associated with a significant rise in flight speed, but wind often produced a side azimuth along the birds' migratory route. Whatever the season, the distance travelled daily was on average shorter in Europe than in Africa, with values of 200 and 270 km d−1, respectively. The fastest instantaneous flight speeds of up to 112 km h−1 were also observed above Africa. This observation confirms the hypothesis of thermal-dependant flight behaviour, and also reveals differences in flight costs between Europe and Africa. Furthermore, differences in food availability, a crucial factor for black storks during their flight between Europe and Africa, may also contribute to the above-mentioned shift in daily flight speeds.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/ ... .2010.0422

Posted here: viewtopic.php?p=622836#p622836
Wind blows young migrant birds to all corners of Africa
University of Amsterdam
Migrant birds that breed in the same area in Europe spread out across all of Africa during the northern winter. A new satellite-tracking study shows that the destination of individual birds is largely determined by the wind conditions they encounter during their first migration. The results were made available open access in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Image
https://phys.org/news/2017-05-young-mig ... .html#nRlv

Posted by Liz01 here: viewtopic.php?p=575954#p575954
Are non-migrant white storks (Ciconia ciconia) able to survive a cold-induced fast?
Mata AJ, Caloin M, Michard-Picamelot D, Ancel A, Le Maho Y.
Abstract: Northwestern European populations of White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) have been restored by settling young birds which, after having been maintained captive for 3 years, do not migrate when released. Since they are still supplied with food, the question we address here is how settled White Storks would cope with a fast resulting from a cold spell if food were no longer available. We, therefore, measured daily body mass loss, nitrogen excretion and daily energy expenditure under natural photoperiod and climatic conditions in six captive White Storks exposed to 5 days of food deprivation during winter. The daily ambient temperature ranged between -10 and 17 degrees C. After an initial decrease in both daily body mass loss and nitrogen excretion during the first day of fasting, these two parameters stabilized at low values. Lipids were the main fuel energy source (91%) and body proteins accounted for the remainder (9%). The rate of CO(2) production, measured with the doubly labelled water method, decreased significantly (P<0.001) during fasting when compared to the ad libitum value. Our data show that the metabolic adjustments of White Storks facing starvation are similar to those found in birds well-adapted to long-term fasting. From the determination of lipid and protein stores and of lipid and protein depletion rates, we conclude that White Storks would be able to survive at least during 4 weeks, a period of time twice as long as the duration of cold spells usually occurring in the Alsace region.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11672686

Climate change and migratory birds
Word Migratory Bird Day
· Introduction - The black stork exhausted
· No Fuel on the flyway - The loss of habitats
· Journeys cancelled - Climate change affects patterns of migration
· Sorry, no vacancies - Warm weather increases the competition for breeding places
· The early bird catches the worm? Climate change leads to food shortages
· Global threat - Climate change amplifies the danger to migratory birds
· What can we do?
http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/20 ... x44cb.html


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Post by sova »

oh my god :slap: ... Anne. I've just seen that :2thumbsup:
a lot of work....
might i even write here?
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Migration of the Black Stork


In General

Posted here viewtopic.php?p=611822#p611822
Study of fall migration of Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) by satellite telemetry
(in English on page 162)
Twenty-seven Black Storks (14 adults, 6 immature and 7 young birds) were captured and equipped with Argos satellite transmitters between 1995 and 2000. Most birds were captured during the pre-migration period, within four different regions: the province of Luxembourg (Belgium), Côte d'Or, Haute-Marne and Ardennes Départements (France). We generally do not know where the storks were from, as they might have travelled long distances between breeding territories and pre-migration areas...
Four parameters were studied: duration of the journey (number of rest days, numbers of active flying days), distances (daily, maximum, mean, total) and comparison between the actual distance of the followed route and theoretical distance.
Maps from the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (I.R.M.) are compared with the behaviour of the birds especially for rest and long distance days (when a stork travels more than 1,5 time the mean daily distance). For those particular days, meteorological data were collected : cloudiness (3 categories : low, moderate, high), development of low cloud (no low cloud, "nice weather" cumulus, other low clouds), difference between air temperature and temperature of dew point (the lower this difference, the higher the air humidity rate), strength of wind (4 categories according to the Beaufort scale (from 1 to 4, there was no higher wind during the time of our study), and direction of wind.
www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bulletins/Ar ... -4_155.pdf

African Odyssey Project
Research on the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) Migration and Ecology and its Presentation on the Internet

Miroslav BOBEK, Frantisek POJER, Lubomir PESKE & Jaroslav SIMEK
ABSTRACT - The African Odyssey project is aimed at the study of the migration and ecology of Black Storks. From 1995 till 2000, 18 Black Storks were equipped with satellite and VHF transmitters in the Czech Republic. Storks used both known migration routes- western one via Gibraltar straits to Mali, Mauritania and Senegal and eastern one via Bosphorus to Ethiopia, Central African Rep., Chad and Nigeria. Several expeditions were conducted to African winter-grounds. The project serves to popularise and educate as well, information about the project are available on the Internet since 1997.
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... -4_212.pdf

Post-Breeding Movements of Iberian Black Storks Ciconia nigra as Revealed by Satellite Tracking
Luis Santiago CANO, Cláudia FRANCO, Guillermo DOVAL, Alejandro TORÉS, Isidoro CARBONELL and José Luis TELLERÍA
Abstract: We explored the post-breeding home range and autumnal migratory movements of a sample of the Iberian black stork Ciconia nigra population. A total of 10 black storks, consisting of 8 nestlings, 1 immature and 1 adult from Portugal (N = 5) and Spain (N = 5) were equipped with satellite transmitters and tracked during the post-breeding period until the autumnal routes were complete. We estimated adaptive kernels to define the size and structure of the home ranges before migrating via the Strait of Gibraltar. Three storks died in Iberia before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (one immediately after leaving the nest and two during movements across Spain before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar) and the rest moved to winter in Africa. Before crossing the Strait, the total distance travelled during the postbreeding period varied considerably among individuals, ranging from 100 km to more than 800 km. Mean movements per day ranged from 1.5 to 26.1 km. The tagged Iberian black storks began autumn migration between mid-September and beginning-October. Most storks flew to the Sahel without stopovers in 2–3 weeks. The mean autumnal migratory distance of all Iberian storks together was ± SE, 3,673.5 ±516 km, and the migration speed was 208.6 ± 21. We came to the conclusion that the tagged Iberian black storks show large-scale migration routes similar to other European populations.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... e_Tracking


Juveniles

Migration of Black Storks Ciconia nigra at a migratory divide: two different routes used by siblings from one nest and two different routes used by one individual
Ivan Literák, Petr Kafka, Josef Vrána & František Pojer
ABSTRACT: Black Storks Ciconia nigra breeding in Europe use two main migratory routes to winter in Africa: a western route over Gibraltar and an eastern route through Turkey and Israel. A broad area of migratory divide exists in central Europe. We examined cases from the Czech Republic wherein siblings from one nest used different migration routes. We found 20 such cases associated with 18 nests distributed throughout the entire territory of the Czech Republic. Moreover, one bird hatched in 2007 used the western migration route in 2007 and the eastern one in 2009. The actual geographical position of a juvenile Black Stork from an area of migratory divide in the autumn period of migratory restlessness (after the dispersal period) influences the decision to choose the western or eastern direction of migration. We also propose that Black Storks that are older than one year and therefore with experience of past migrations could decide their direction of autumn migration and be followed by inexperienced juvenile Black Storks. Siblings originating from an area of migratory divide can commonly use both main migration routes.
http://www.krouzkovaniptaku.cz/dokument ... ak2017.pdf

Contributed by Ari19
Stay with the family or go alone?
Mélanie Larue, Mathieu Boos, Christian Brossard, François Baillon, Jean-Jacques Boutteaux, Jérôme Bernard, Paul Brossault, Odile Petit & Damien Chevallier
ABSTRACT: For many migratory species, social interactions on migration are poorly known, particularly the extent to which brood siblings remain together, at least during their first post-fledging migration. This study tested the assumption that Black Stork siblings stay together during migration and is the first time that juveniles from the same brood of a Palearctic sub-Saharan migratory stork species have been tracked on migration. Four juveniles from the same brood were followed by satellite tracking, and each dispersed or migrated in a completely different direction to its siblings. The results thus refute the idea that Black Stork siblings remain together on their first migration, but to confirm these new findings, it is important to repeat the study using additional nests.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10. ... 16.1190616

Contributed by Liz01
Start of migration.
Email from Maris Strazds
Departure from nest does NOT mean the immediate start of migration. Some birds do, but many hang around for quite some time. This can be identified for tagged bird ONLY, all other „data” are speculations. I do not know what the English version of Wikipedia (in general poor source concerning BS) quotes, but very likely those can be birds from western flyway – France and Belgium. Even if the figures are correct from the right sources, those birds are very different from eastern flyers (like ours or EE storks are), so cannot be used as a reference concerning thoughts „when will these juveniles start migration?”. Czech birds fly both ways so those data must be divided per flyway before quoting. Another important aspect is extra 1000-1500 km birds from Latvia and Estonia shall fly. It adds some time that they require to make it happen.
Data: (unpublised so far) from 22 Latvian storklets that started migration at all (from 27 tagged), the mean age of start of migration is at least 89.7 days, minimum 73.4, maximum 142.2 days. Of those 5 birds that reached the age of 1 year, the mean age is 90.5 days
(Mellene – 92.5, Kate – 85.4, Sarma – 115.2, Raitis – 83.0, Mare – 76.4).


Migratory orientation of first-year white storks (Ciconia ciconia): inherited information and social interactions
Nikita Chernetsov, Peter Berthold, Ulrich Querner
SUMMARY
We used satellite tracking to study the migratory orientation of juvenile white storks from the population in the Kaliningrad Region (Russia) during their first autumn migration. Two series of experiments were performed. In the first series of experiments, several groups of first-year storks were raised in an aviary, kept there until all free-living conspecifics had left the area and then released. These birds had to select their migratory route on the basis of the inherited directional information they possessed, without any chance of being guided by their experienced conspecifics. In the second series of experiments, several groups of juveniles were displaced from the Kaliningrad Region to the Volga area and to Western Siberia. Both areas lie outside the breeding range of the white stork so the displaced birds also had to rely on their innate migratory program. Results from the differently designed experiments did not match. Nor did they match with the results of earlier experiments on the delayed departure of juvenile white storks as reported by several authors. We suggest that naïve white storks (and maybe other soaring migrants) rely on social interactions when selecting their autumn migratory route to a much greater extent than do passerine long-distance migrants.
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexb ... 7.full.pdf

Pre migratory movements and migration route of a juvenile black stork (Ciconia nigra)
Roland Libois, Gérard Jadoul
Abstract: On 19th of July 1995, a juvenile black stork was caught in the vicinity of Bastogne (Province of Luxembourg, Belgium) and was fitted a PTT platform weighing about 75 grams. The locations obtained by the Argos system were sorted according to their precision and the fixes of good quality (A,0,2 or 3 in the Argos classification) were mapped. From the 19th July to the first migration day (28 August at 09h GMT), more than fifty percent of the 109 obtained fixes are located inside a zone of 100 km² (5.65 km radius) centered near the capture point. Moreover, that zone has been visited nearly every day by the bird. Twenty more percent of the fixes are situated in a wider area of 300 km² (9.77 km radius). That region is covered by spruce plantations, deciduous forests and cattle meadows with numerous small watercourses and several ponds including fish ponds. Some medium distance (10 to 110 km apart from the home range centre) movements were also recorded, mainly eastwards and westwards. No difference has been evidenced in the home range use during the 4 decades of monitoring. The migration travel was monitored till the 06th September, when the transmitter failed due to a technical misconception. At that time, the stork was located in the region of Fès (Morocco). Within 9 days, the bird has travelled a distance of ca 2,400 km (mean daily movement: 237 km). The Pyrenees were crossed in the high valley of the river Tech (Pyrénées Orientales, France) only 3 days after the departure and the bird has been seen by Spanish colleagues when flying across the Strait of Gibraltar (Tarifa, 5 September, 07.55 h GMT).
https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/113667

The challenges of the first migration: movement and behaviour of juvenile vs. adult white storks with insights regarding juvenile mortality 2016 (White Storks)
Shay Rotics, Michael Kaatz, Yehezkel S. Resheff, Sondra Feldman Turjeman, Damaris Zurell, Nir Sapir, Ute Eggers, Andrea Flack, Wolfgang Fiedler, Florian Jeltsch, Martin Wikelski, Ran Nathan
Summary
1. Migration conveys an immense challenge, especially for juvenile birds coping with enduring and risky journeys shortly after fledging. Accordingly, juveniles exhibit considerably lower survival rates compared to adults, particularly during migration. Juvenile white storks (Ciconia ciconia), which are known to rely on adults during their first fall migration presumably for navigational purposes, also display much lower annual survival than adults.
2. Using detailed GPS and body acceleration data, we examined the patterns and potential causes of age‐related differences in fall migration properties of white storks by comparing first‐year juveniles and adults. We compared juvenile and adult parameters of movement, behaviour and energy expenditure (estimated from overall dynamic body acceleration) and placed this in the context of the juveniles’ lower survival rate.
3. Juveniles used flapping flight vs. soaring flight 23% more than adults and were estimated to expend 14% more energy during flight. Juveniles did not compensate for their higher flight costs by increased refuelling or resting during migration. When juveniles and adults migrated together in the same flock, the juvenile flew mostly behind the adult and was left behind when they separated. Juveniles showed greater improvement in flight efficiency throughout migration compared to adults which appears crucial because juveniles exhibiting higher flight costs suffered increased mortality.
4. Our findings demonstrate the conflict between the juveniles’ inferior flight skills and their urge to keep up with mixed adult–juvenile flocks. We suggest that increased flight costs are an important proximate cause of juvenile mortality in white storks and likely in other soaring migrants and that natural selection is operating on juvenile variation in flight efficiency.
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley ... 2656.12525

Preparations of young White Storks for migration flight 2016 (White Storks)
Sabine Stöcker-Segre & Daniel Weihs
Abstract
The preparation for flight by White Storks from being fully fledged to the first days of migration was analyzed by using position and velocity data of 31 young White Storks preparing for first migration, equipped with GPS logger tags. The effects of body mass, weather and social factors on the frequency and duration of flight exercises until the start of migration were examined. Presenting a number of particular cases, we show that birds use environmental and social cues when preparing for their first migration. Such, birds stop-over or even return distances of up to 70 km to join later leaving groups of birds. We also observed a bird that switched from the eastern to the western migration route when weather conditions worsened considerably. In addition, we observed that activity during the post-fledging period is correlated to body mass. We observed that juveniles extend their home range prior to migration.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ion_flight


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Post by Jo UK »

sova wrote: August 14th, 2019, 5:20 pm oh my god :slap: ... Anne. I've just seen that :2thumbsup:
a lot of work....
might i even write here?
Sova, it is terrifying, isn't it? I keep wondering when Anne will finally crumble under the weight of all this data.
And I have much more to send her, unless she protests!
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Post by Anne7 »

Dangers during migration

The Hazards of Overhead Electric Lines on Black Storks
Béla KALOCSA, and Enikő Anna TAMÁS
MME BirdLife Hungary

Almost every year the death or serious injury of Black Storks caused by overhead electric lines is recorded in the Hungarian ringing database. Among the Black Storks with satellite transmitters from Hungary, the prevalence of electrocution and collision with overhead electric wires is very high. This is a considerable threat not only near the breeding grounds but along migration routes as well. MME BirdLife Hungary has been working for years in order to decrease the risks posed by overhead electric lines, as the threat affects other species as well (including the White Stork Ciconia ciconia and different raptors). Communication and co-operation with electricity providers and the importance of international co-operation is also outlined.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Avian mortality from power lines: a morphologic approach of a species-specific mortality
Guyonne F. E. Janss
Abstract: Avian mortality from power lines is a species-specific mortality which affects several vulnerable and endangered species. Identifying the characteristics of species at risk of power line mortality can help solve this conservation problem. The relative abundance of bird species near power lines was compared with records of electrocution and collision casualties from these power lines to identify species-specific death risk as determined by wing morphology. Generally, collision victims were “poor” fliers, while electrocution victims were birds of prey, ravens and thermal soarers. Bird species were categorised by wing morphology and risk of either collision or electrocution. Three categories were identified: species with a high risk of collision, species with a high risk of electrocution and a third mixed group, susceptible to both these causes of death. The variables, weight, wing length, total length and tail length classified 88.6% of the species correctly in these three categories when used in a discriminant analysis. The classification can be used in a predictive model to identify species susceptible to power line mortality. The third mixed group warrants special attention from a conservation point of view because risk is not easily identified and depends on specific behaviour and local circumstances.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0700000215

Study of the Flight Behaviour of Black Storks in Relation to Weather Conditions and Land Use with Special Consideration of Existing Wind Turbines in the SPA Vogelsberg (Hessen - Germany)
Patric LORGÉ
BirdLife Luxembourg - Centrale Ornithologique (COL)

Main target of this research project was the improvement of knowledge of the flight behaviour of the Black Stork depending on weather conditions and land use. In addition, flight behaviour in close proximity to wind turbines (WEA) was analysed.
The Vogelsberg nature reserve was chosen as project area because of several local breeding Black Stork pairs and two wind farms located in the same area.
The flight behaviour was determined by visual observation of the perceptible flights in relation to Altitude (vertical) and species-specific behaviour patterns were categorized. The influence of the weather and land use has been checked by statistical analysis.
For the analysis of the flight behaviour in the close range to WEA, a radius of 250 m around the WEA was defined as danger zone. When approaching this danger zone, a detailed description of the flight movement (vertical and horizontal) was made under consideration of weather data and wing tip speed of the WEA. Potential and used feeding habitats were also taken into account. The recording of flight movements took place from 01.04. to 11.08.2016, resp. on 40 recording days with simultaneous synchronous counts (640 hours).
Flight behaviour in the WEA-environment
Within the present study, Black Storks approached WEA in 10 out of 121 flights (8.3 %) to such an extent that they can be placed within the critical danger zone (250 m horizontal consideration). Flights through wind farms have not been observed in this study, but were reported in others. The weather conditions for flights in the danger zone were always favourable (no precipitation, no high wind speeds, optimal visibility). The WEA were in operation during the flights. Several other studies were analysed and results compared to the present study.
Influence of the weather and land use on the flight altitude of the Black Stork
In the present study, no statistically supported model could be found, which determines the probability of the occurrence of flights in the rotor height in correlation with weather parameters. There is no significant influence of the weather on the flight altitude in the danger area. However, it is likely that thermals play a role in flight altitude, especially during very long flights.
Land use has no influence on the spatial distribution of flight activity.
Conclusion
It must be said that these conclusions were drawn from the observation of a small number of Black Storks and are therefore not worth generalizing.
Therefore, it would be important to carry out further investigations (telemetry of breeders close to wind turbines) in particular with new GPS transmitters with simultaneous acquisition of elevation data in order to obtain more detailed information on flight altitude and space use as well as on the use of food habitats and main action areas. In addition, telemetry studies should be conducted for at least 3 to 5 years.
As a conclusion of this study and the evaluation of existing studies, several successful breeding cases of Black Storks within a radius of 3,000 m to existing wind turbines were recorded.
Overall and despite the fact that some breeding sites are only a short distance from the nearest wind turbines (550 m to 1,300 m), only a very small proportion of the total number of flights can be regarded as conflict-prone. For almost all these flights, a peripheral flight around the WEA was observed.
During the study, no collisions were detected and no adult breeder birds disappeared, so that collisions in the study period are ruled out. This study shows that the studied Black Storks can come close to the WEA in operation and actively fly around, over or/and cross wind farms in a "manageable situations" or with a sufficiently wide corridor.
Summary provided by Patric Lorgé. The original study in German and maps can be obtained here:
https://landesplanung.hessen.de/informa ... warzstorch
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Black Stork and Wind Farm: Which Level of Risk? Case of Mortality, Sample of Measures Proposed to Take into Account Wind Farm Risks, Open Discussion Session to Compare Different European Experiences
Frederic CHAPALAIN (LPO France Birdlife – CRBPO) and Nicolas GENDRE (LPO France Birdlife)
In the last ten years, we have witnessed in France a real explosion in the number of wind farm projects. In 2017, France occupies the 4th position in wind farms in Europe and there is a plan to double its fleet in the next 10 years. These projects with strong political and economic interests are accompanied by previous impact studies and monitoring studies after the implant. The Black Stork, a rare species with a great heritage and vast territory, is taken into account in these studies when this presence is demonstrated. These Environmental Impact studies, which quality is very variable and generally very insufficient for this species, are neither standardized nor independent because they are carried out by the promoters or their subcontractor/s. This makes almost impossible to get information back. National LPO-ONF in coordination with various actors in the field is regularly interviewed by wind farm agents. Measuring the impact of these facilities is difficult. To date, a corpse of a Black Stork has been found.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Dangers of migration
Migration is a gamble. Birds have to deal with all kinds of dangers on the way - from bad weather and hungry predators to exhaustion and starvation.
Protecting migrants
Migration routes cross many different countries, so conservation organisations such as the RSPB have to work with other organisations and governments all over the world. After all, there is little point in protecting birds in the UK if their winter home in Africa is destroyed, or if they get shot during migration.
Today most countries have laws to protect migrating birds and their habitats, and international agreements help to make sure that these laws are followed.
The Ramsar Convention on wetlands was agreed in 1971. It aims to protect all important wetlands around the world, and to make sure that people use them without damaging them. Today 138 countries are signed up to this treaty. The UK now has 169 Ramsar sites – more than any other country.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildl ... ation.aspx

BIRD ON A WIRE: THE ELECTROCUTION OF WILD BIRDS
One of the quieter tragedies occurring at the interface of the human world and the natural world today is that a great number of birds are being killed by unshielded electrical wires and transformers, part of the great energy apparatus that makes our wired, climate-controlled lifestyles possible.
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/adv ... ild-birds/

Refining Estimates of Bird Collision and Electrocution Mortality at Power Lines
Collisions and electrocutions at power lines are thought to kill large numbers of birds in the United States annually. However, existing estimates of mortality are either speculative (for electrocution) or based on extrapolation of results from one study to all U.S. power lines (for collision).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4081594/

Environmentalism in the crosshairs: Perspectives on migratory bird hunting and poaching conflicts in Italy 2016
Benjamin Barca, Adrien Lindon, Meredith Root-Bernstein
Abstract
Migratory bird hunting has a long tradition in the Mediterranean, but remains a highly controversial issue. Here we examine the Mediterranean migratory bird hunting controversies through the case of Italy. We interviewed key informants and carried out participant observation on both legal and illegal migratory bird hunting and migratory bird protection, in four key migratory bird hunting sites in Italy. In many cases, both migratory bird hunters and bird protection activists consider themselves as the stewards of nature. Environmentalists accuse hunters of illegal practices, while hunters believe anti-poaching activists aim to threaten the existence of hunting itself. Yet surprisingly, the legality of specific hunting practices emerges as peripheral to the concerns of both groups. The lack of dialogue and increasingly polarized positions on both sides make it difficult to assure compliance with EU and national migratory bird hunting laws, and hinders finding shared solutions that consider differing values in a rapidly changing society.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 9415300482

Black Stork Down: Military Discourses in Bird Conservation in Malta
Brian Campbell & Diogo Veríssimo
Abstract Tensions between Maltese hunters and bird conser- vation NGOs have intensified over the past decade. Conser- vation NGOs have become frustrated with the Maltese State for conceding to the hunter lobby and negotiating derogations from the European Union’s Bird Directive. Some NGOs have recently started to organize complex field-operations where volunteers are trained to patrol the landscape, operate drones and other surveillance technologies, detect illegalities, and lead police teams to arrest poachers. We describe the sophis- ticated military metaphors which conservation NGOs have developed to describe, guide and legitimize their efforts to the Maltese public and their fee-paying members. We also discuss why such groups might be inclined to adopt these metaphors. Finally, we suggest that anthropological studies of discourse could help understand delicate contexts such as this where conservation NGOs, hunting associations and the State have ended in political deadlock.
https://kar.kent.ac.uk/49000/1/Black%20 ... ll2015.pdf

The grand challenges of migration ecology that radar aeroecology can help answer
Silke Bauer, Judy Shamoun‐Baranes, Cecilia Nilsson, Andrew Farnsworth, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Don R. Reynolds, Adriaan M. Dokter Jennifer F. Krauel, Lars B. Petterson, Kyle G. Horton, Jason W. Chapman
19 October 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.04083

Abstract
Many migratory species have experienced substantial declines that resulted from rapid and massive expansions of human structures and activities, habitat alterations and climate change. Migrants are also recognized as an integral component of biodiversity and provide a multitude of services and disservices that are relevant to human agriculture, economy and health. The plethora of recently published studies reflects the need for better fundamental knowledge on migrations and for better management of their ecological and human‐relevant effects. Yet, where are we in providing answers to fundamental questions and societal challenges?
Engaging a broad network of researchers worldwide, we used a horizon‐scan approach to identify the most important challenges which need to be overcome in order to gain a fuller understanding of migration ecology, and which could be addressed using radar aero-ecological and macro-ecological approaches. The top challenges include both long‐standing and novel topics, ranging from fundamental information on migration routes and phenology, orientation and navigation strategies, and the multitude of effects migrants may have on resident communities, to societal challenges, such as protecting or preventing migrant services and disservices, and the conservation of migrants in the face of environmental changes. We outline these challenges, identify the urgency of addressing them and the primary stakeholders – researchers, policy makers and practitioners, or funders of research.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ful ... ecog.04083

For Migratory Birds, Lebanon Is A 'Black Hole' Where They Are Hunted, Trapped, Killed
February 3, 2019
Every year, some 2.6 million birds are shot or die after they are trapped in illegal nets, according to the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon. Among them are endangered, vulnerable and near-threatened species.
Some poor farmers catch birds and sell them to restaurants or shops. Songbirds are considered a delicacy in Lebanon, and are often sautéed and eaten with pomegranate molasses.
For the hunters, shooting birds is a competitive sport and a cultural activity — something many Lebanese do on weekends, for fun.
The repercussions are felt far beyond the country's borders, because Lebanon lies on the African Eurasian flyway, one of the world's most important migratory routes for birds, including protected species such as honey buzzards.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/03/68544056 ... 9683913809

In Malta, legal loopholes give poachers cover to hunt migratory birds
by Jason J. Gregg on 11 January 2019
... Malta is a stopping-off point for some 170 species of birds from at least 48 different countries migrating between Europe and Africa. The vast majority of these birds, including white storks (Ciconia ciconia) and black storks (Ciconia nigra), are strictly protected under the European Union’s Birds Directive of 1972. But in Malta, poachers kill or capture up to 200,000 wild birds every year: shooting them for food, taxidermy or simply target practice, or trapping them to keep as pets or live hunting decoys. ...
... Across the wider Mediterranean, poachers kill and trap between 11 million and 36 million birds annually in 26 different countries. Between 5.5 million and 14.5 million of these birds are poached in nine EU member states, including Malta, Italy, France and Cyprus — countries with comprehensive bird conservation laws that ostensibly prohibit the killing or capture of migratory species, similar to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of the United States. ...
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/01/in-ma ... ory-birds/


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Wintering Black Storks

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The importance of roosts for Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) wintering in West Africa.
Abstract: Seasonal variations in the use of roosts by Black Storks Ciconia nigra in West Africa were studied by satellite tracking and field observations between 1998 and 2006. Black Storks used twelve tree species as nocturnal roost. All roosting trees were higher than the surrounding vegetation (11.4 ± 3.9 vs. 4.2 ± 0.1 m). Black storks selected dead trees in 46% of the cases and showed a preference for roosts located close to foraging areas (on average within 4 km), the distance varying significantly according to season. On average, Black Storks used roosts for four consecutive days, alternating between roosts up to 41 times per winter period. Destruction of roosting trees could impact the birds' spatial distribution.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... est_Africa
https://bioone.org/journals/ardea/volum ... 8.0111.pdf

Contributed by Biker
Human activity and the drying up of rivers determine abundance and spatial distribution of Black Storks Ciconia nigra on their wintering grounds
Damien Chevallier, Yvon Le Maho, Francois Baillon, Robin Duponnois, Claudine Dieulin, Paul Brossault, Philippe De Franclieu, Patric Lorge, Axel Aurouet & Sylvie Massemin
Abstract:
Capsule: The drying up of rivers results in the fragmentation of home ranges over the winter period, birds avoid areas of high human activity.
Aims: To investigate the impact of human activity and habitat characteristics on the distribution of Black Storks Ciconia nigra on wintering grounds in West Africa.
Methods: Seasonal variations in wintering home‐range size and habitat selection of seven Black Storks were studied using satellite tracking from 1998 to 2006. A Black Stork population was followed in the field from 2003 to 2005 in the Nazinga Game Ranch (Burkina Faso) and Ghana.
Results: Adulsub-adults adults (n = 5) have smaller mean global ranges than juveniles (n = 2) (532.92 ± 237.17 and 2463.18 ± 405.10 km2 respectively) and smaller mean core ranges (8.83 ± 10.01 and 162.14 ± 131.56 km2 respectively) suggesting that juveniles prospect widely for suitable habitats during their first winter period. In all birds, the home range becomes increasingly fragmented from November to February. Two main factors seem to be involved in this fragmentation: (1) Black Storks seem to prefer locations on perennial rivers but many rivers in this region gradually dry out into separated pools at this time of year; and (2) monthly variation of human activity along the rivers. Occurrence of Black Storks is inversely proportional to human activity, irrelevant of whether open habitat is available at the location. When human pressure is moderate, open habitats and low tree canopy favour the presence of Black Storks.
Conclusion: We propose that conservation measures should include the creation of reserves located along perennial rivers, away from areas of human activity.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10. ... 1003678467

Posted here: viewtopic.php?p=620587#p620587
Prey selection of the Black stork in the African wintering area
Chevallier Damien, François Baillon, Jean Patrice Robin, Yvon Le Maho
Abstract: To determine what kind of factors are implied in the decline of long-distance birds, knowledge on feeding ecology in breeding and wintering areas is essential. We present the first study recording the quantity and quality of food eaten by a population of black storks Ciconia nigra in the Africa wintering zone, as well as prey abundance in the field by testing an eventual foraging strategy based on the selection of biotic parameters of fish prey (body size, energy gain, swimming speed and fish armaments). Black storks preferentially selected two fish species of Siluriforms that were not the most abundant species in the field. Storks carried out interspecific selection according to the swimming speed of fish species and intraspecific selection depending on prey size, probably to avoid defensive armaments of the preferred fish prey. Small fishes consumed by the birds constituted 91% of the diet and 45% of the total food energy intake. Small fishes were more frequently caught than large ones, even if the storks sometimes took the opportunity to catch large fishes that provided a high energy gain. Energy assimilation of black storks is almost twofold higher than the estimated daily energy expenditure. This study suggests that the quantity of food would satisfy the energy requirements of the species during the winter in Africa, enable them to store reserves and ensure their survival in the African areas.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ering_area

Posted here: viewtopic.php?p=621367#p621367
Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) wintering in Northern Israel
Wim VAN DEN BOSSCHE
ABSTRACT: The Bet She'an and Hula Valleys in northern Israel are a very important migration bottleneck and wintering site for Black Storks. Not only 17000 Black Storks pass on autumn passage but also up to 1400 Black Storks wintered during the mid-1990s in the fishpond complexes of the Northern Valleys. Most storks stayed in the eastern Bet She'an Valley. Most of the young birds that wintered in Israel were late migrants; a high proportion was marked at northern breeding grounds and tagged storks showed a high fidelity. Local wintering storks arrived earlier every autumn until they were 4 to 5 years old. By the middle of October, most migrants had passed and most marked adults had arrived, while only 1 out of 11 wintering marked 1-st winter birds was present. The wintering population was composed of storks from all age groups; there were substantial yearly differences in the proportion of 1st and 2nd- winter birds. Almost no Black Storks stayed on the fishpond complexes during summer. Black Storks were mainly feeding in canals and on filled and drained ponds, where they looked for small living fish. Tilapia hybrids were the main prey. Young storks showed a preference for habitats where it was easy to catch fish. The type of fishponds, draining technique and yield had a significant effect on the number of wintering birds.
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... -4_127.pdf

Wintering Black Storks Ciconia nigra in Iberian Peninsula:
Origins and Site Fidelity Obtained from Ringed Individuals

Carlos PACHECO1, L.S. CANO ALONSO 2,3 and Luís VENÂNCIO4
1 Rua João de Freitas Branco, n.º 38 – 2º Dto., 1500-359 Lisboa, Portugal
2 Department of Zoology and Physical Antropology, Faculty of Biology Sciences, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3 IUCN SSC Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group. Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
4 Rua , Arronches, Portugal

An increasing number of Black Storks Ciconia nigra remain to winter in a number of locations of Iberian Peninsula. The knowledge about the origin of these individuals is essential to assess eventual changes in migratory patterns and to determine other important aspects of Black Storks’ ecology such as longevity and site fidelity and also to access the conservation status and habitat requirements of these sites. All the available information on ring controls and recoveries was gathered from the Portuguese and Spanish ringing centres, from social media and dedicated websites. Directed efforts to control rings and count individuals were done by the authors in a number of winters at some of the main wintering sites.
The data collected shows that the wintering population is from both Iberian and Central European origin and that there has been an increase in the proportion of Central European ringed storks in the last decade. This proportion is much higher at newer regular wintering sites what suggests that there might be a change in the migratory strategy of the species with a larger number of individuals staying in Europe instead of migrating to Africa and those storks that are colonizing these new wintering sites are mostly from the non-Iberian population. Regardless of their origin, many individuals show a very high site fidelity and some use the same wintering area since their first winter. Conservation implications of colour ringing as a conservation tool are discussed.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Wintering Black Storks Ciconia nigra in Portugal:
Evolution of the Distribution, Habitat Preferences and Origin

Carlos PACHECO1 and Vitor ENCARNAÇÃO2
1 Rua João de Freitas Branco, n.º 38 – 2º Dto., 1500-359 Lisboa, Portugal
2 Reserva Natural do Estuário do Tejo/ICNF, Avª. dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra, 1, 2890-015 Alcochete, Portugal

During the last two decades, an increasing number of Black Storks Ciconia nigra remain to winter in a wider number of locations of Iberian Peninsula. In a previous study, some environmental and geographical factors affecting the winter distribution of the Black Stork in Iberia were analysed. Data provided by an extensive count across Portugal and Spain during the winter 2012 – 2013 supported that Black Storks were more abundant in areas of high habitat suitability close to the migratory flyway and were absent or in reduced numbers in areas away from the migratory flyaway. These results were used to assess habitat suitability and to model the long-term evolution of the Iberian Peninsula as wintering ground for the Western and Central European population of Black Storks.
In the present work we compiled all the data available from wintering Black Storks in Portugal with the objectives of characterizing the evolution of occupancy area and habitat preferences and to evaluate the suitability of the model developed in the work mentioned before. The data collected shows that there has been an increase in numbers and occupancy area with several new regular wintering sites in the last decades and that the model predicted well these new settlements. The wintering sites in the late 1980s’ and 1990s’ were mostly rivers and small wetlands (mostly small reservoirs) but the newer sites are essentially large areas of rice field. Most of these areas are unprotected. Control of colour rings allowed identifying the origin of some individuals that are both from the Western and Central European population.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Wintering of Black Stork in France – the Sample of DIVA – CM32 a Black Stork Wintering in France, Tagged 3 Years Ago
Frederic CHAPALAIN (LPO France Birdlife – CRBPO), Nicolas GENDRE (LPO France Birdlife) and Antoine JORIS (Réserve Africaine de Sigean)
Black Stork breeds in France since 1973. The West European population is largely trans-Saharan migrant. A majority of individuals migrate through the Western European route through French territory crossing the passes of Pyrenees and after the Strait of Gibraltar. Wintering in the Iberian Peninsula began in the 1950s. More recently, Black Storks have started wintering in France, but remain relatively rare. In 2004, the number of wintering individuals was estimated to be few individuals. We can estimate between 30 and 40 Black Storks winter in France in 2018, mainly in the Mediterranean arc. Since 2010, a Black Stork nicknamed DIVA, banded when it was a chick at nest in Luxembourg by Patric Lorgé in 2008, is observed annually in winter at the zoological park of Sigean, the swamps of Narbonnais and the rice fields surroundings by Antoine Joris as well as observers of Aude Nature and LPO Aude. In the autumn of 2015, a partnership was established among the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, the CRBPO banding programme and the LPO France to equip DIVA with a GSM / GPS / UHF device to study its wintering and to locate its nesting site. We present here the monitoring of its wintering during three winters.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

From Small Rivers to Large Rice Fields - VIDEO
Daniel AUCLAIR; VIDEO-CLAIR DE LUNE PRODUCTIONS
«CM32, d'un petit ruisseau à une grande rizière» is a short film of 8 minutes and 50 seconds, initially made for the Réserve Africaine de Sigean (located in the department of Aude, Occitan region at the eastern end of the French Pyrenees). This short film tells the story of the monitoring of the Black Stork CM32 – DIVA-. It was ringed when it was a chick at nest in Luxembourg in 2008 by Patric Lorgé. Since 2010, she is observed annually in winter in the zoological park of Sigean, the swamps of Narbonnais and the surrounding paddy fields by Antoine Joris as well as observers of Aude Nature and LPO Aude. In autumn 2015, a scientific partnership was established between the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, the banding programme (CRBPO) and the LPO France to equip DIVA with a GSM / GPS / UHF device. The objective is to locate its nesting site and study its nesting and wintering home ranges. The reproduction of this bird is followed by the ONF in the department of Meuse. Telemetry monitoring of this French breeding bird wintering in France has been ongoing for 3 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1nuHMfP1as

Predictive distribution models applied to satellite tracks: modelling the western African winter range of European migrant Black Storks Ciconia nigra
Frédéric Jiguet, Chevallier Damien
Abstract Predictive distribution models generally use data from multiple individuals each associated with a unique observation location, coupled with environmental parameters, to define the overall suitable area where the species could occur. Whether the use of multiple locations from a few individuals is similarly efficient to model species distribution is not yet known. If so, the method could bring valuable inputs to identify priority conservation areas for rare or elusive species, especially those large vertebrates tracked with telemetry. Satellite tracking of long-distance migrants often produces numerous locations of surveyed individuals across their wintering ranges. We examined such wintering tracks to test if the wintering locations obtained from few tracked individuals could be useful to model the full species wintering range, using habitat suitability models. We aimed at predicting the wintering distribution of West European Black Storks Ciconia nigra. We used tracks of 9 storks, retaining one location per winter day per individual for a total of 972 different locations. Combined with bioclimatic and land cover data in habitat suitability modelling within an ensemble forecast framework, we obtained a probabilistic distribution which largely matched the previously reported wintering range of the species in western and central Africa. Using tracks of the six individuals with more than 100 locations each, we obtained a distribution range closely matching the nine-bird range. A range similar to the nine-bird range could be predicted by models using data from less numerous individuals and by considering a lower threshold value. Habitat suitability models using wintering record locations of satellite-tracked migrant birds can, therefore, help to get a better picture of the wintering distribution range, and hence provide more accurate information for conservation planning on African wintering grounds.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ch ... 000000.pdf

Wintering ecology of the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Beijing
Xiaojing LI, Yang SHI, Jiliang XU, Weidong BAO
Abstract: The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is a new winter resident in Beijing due to temperature changes. To understand the wintering ecology of this species better, a field survey covering the number of birds of this population, habitat selection, feeding activity and grouping behaviour was conducted at the Shidu Nature Reserve from January 2004 to March 2009. The results show that the Black Stork selected the Juma River at this nature reserve as their new winter habitat. The number of birds in this population decreased from 28 in the 2004/2005 winter to 17 in the 2007/2008 winter with a subsequent recovery to 23 the following year. The wintering flock was formed in mid-November and dispersed in mid-March, but the date changed with seasonal temperature fluctuations. The storks exhibited feeding habitat fidelity and the main food type was fish (> 92.4%). There was no significant variation in food composition between adults and sub-adults (Mann-Whitney U test, U = 1.00, p = 0.44). Feeding activity occurred in the morning and at noon during early winter, but concentrated in the afternoon during mid-winter, divided into dawn and dusk in late winter. Daily fish intake was 538 g for adults and 449 g for sub-adults if the period of foraging reached six hours in the wild, which was similar to the level under artificial feeding. Agonistic behaviour among feeding birds was observed among group members in late winter. The main negative factor for wintering Black Stork was a reduced feeding habitat resulting from increased water depth due to damming of the river to bene t tourism and to wetland exploitation.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/We ... eijing.pdf

An approach to wintering of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in the Iberian Peninsula
Luis Santiago CANO ALONSO
Abstract: The Iberian Peninsula is one of the few places where Black Stork Ciconia nigra winter in Europe. The Black Stork wintering period in the Iberian Peninsula lasts from mid-November, when the post-fledging migration has finished, until mid-January, when the Black Stork begins the breeding season in some sites of the Peninsula. The number of concentration places and the number of individuals have increased since the nineties. The origin of these individuals is varied. There are individuals from Iberia (Portugal and Spain), but there are also individuals from other countries in Europe.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/do ... 1&type=pdf

Geographical and environmental factors affecting the distribution of wintering black storks Ciconia nigra in the Iberian Peninsula
Luis Santiago Cano, Carlos Pacheco, Pablo Refoyo, José Luis Tellería
Abstract: Here we explore the environmental and geographical factors affecting the winter distribution of the black stork Ciconia nigra in the Iberian Peninsula, where an increasing number of individuals have remained to winter in the last two decades. We recorded 179 locations of 54 ringed individuals between 1988 and 2011 to map the species habitat suitability with MaxEnt, a machine‐learning technique based on the principle of maximum entropy. The migratory movements of 25 birds equipped with satellite transmitters were used to define the autumnal migratory flyway used by most storks crossing the Peninsula as well as to define the wintering period. The aim was to test if the number of wintering storks was positively correlated to habitat suitability and negatively correlated to the flyway distance. Data provided by an extensive count across Portugal and Spain during the 2012–2013 winter supported the findings that black storks were more abundant in areas of high habitat suitability close to the migratory flyway. This agrees with previous evidence on the role of migratory flyways in determining the distribution of some wintering birds in Iberia. A gap analysis reflected that just 12.3% of the suitable areas and 18.8% of individuals recorded during the 2012–2013 winter were included within the Special Protection Areas network of Portugal and Spain. Most of these birds were crowded in unprotected areas covered by rice fields (68% of individuals), a key habitat for the species.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs ... /jav.00391

Conservation of Iberian Black Storks Ciconia nigra outside breeding areas: distribution, movements and mortality
LUIS SANTIAGO CANO, CLÁUDIA FRANCO, GUILLERMO DOVAL, ALEJANDRO TORÉS, ISIDORO CARBONELL and JOSÉ LUIS TELLERÍA
Summary: Seven out of ten Black Stork chicks fitted with satellite tags successfully made the journey from Iberia to the Sahel. Four died there during their first winter and one additional bird in the second winter. Our results show that 30% of the tagged fledglings died in Iberia and 50% (5/10) in the Sahel. In the Sahel, Black Storks occupy areas of seasonal rivers and small bodies of water in these sub-Saharan savannas, where they track suitable sites according to the progressive drying of the Sahel after the summer monsoon. This behaviour may make them more susceptible to coming into contact with humans and, consequently, current and future action plans for conserving the Iberian Black Stork population should link efforts with AEWA’s Strategic Plan and other international initiatives to promote the global use of water resources for humans and wildlife in the Sahel.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jo ... 9344e0.pdf

Wintering of a Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in the southern part of the Upper Rhine Valley. (In German)
Martin Boschert, Werner Jansen, Richard Kropp
An adult Black Stork was recorded between 19th December 2000 and 16th April 2001 in Achern, Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg (48.38/39 N / 08.01/02 E; 135m a.s.l.). This constitutes the first record of a Black Stork wintering in Germany and the second (probably third or fourth) in Central Europe. In the subsequent winter, we recorded another attempt of an adult Black Stork to overwinter at the described site. Observations were made between 4th December 2001 and 24th January 2002. Several possible reasons for this overwintering case are discussed: injury, poor body condition, captive origin, or a new development encompassing a reduction of the migration period. Whereas there is no evidence available which would point towards the first three options, it is shown that changes in migration times are probably developing in this species.
http://www.fosor.de/artikel/schwarzstorch.pdf

Storks' Diversity, Flock Characteristic, Roosting Ecology and Fluctuation in Numbers in Some Mayas at Dinder National Park, Sudan, During the Dry Seasons 2009 and 2010 2012
Omer M. Meina and Ibrahim M. Hashim, Wildlife Research Centre, Shambat, Sudan
Abstract: Storks were studied by directly observing them in the Maya (meadow) ecosystem of Dinder National Park (DNP) during the dry seasons of 2009 and 2010. The objective was to determine their diversity, flock characteristics, roosting ecology and the annual fluctuation in their numbers. The numbers were ascertained by the double sampling procedure in which the number of each stork species in a flock was estimated and was then directly counted. A predictive model was developed from the relationship between the counted and the estimated
variables. Subsequently, the number was only estimated and the actual count was predicted from the regression model. The tree density was determined by the nearest neighbour method. The crown diameters of the trees were measured, and the crown areas were calculated. Eight species of storks; namely, the black (Ciconia nigra), the white (Ciconia ciconia), the Abdim’s (Ciconia abdimii), the yellow-billed (Mycteria ibis), the African open bill (Anastomus lamelligerus), the woolly-necked (Ciconia episcopus), the marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) and the saddle bill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), occurred in DNP. The black and the white storks are Palearctic migrants, whereas the Abdim's, the woolly necked, the African open bill and the yellow-billed are local migrants; the marabou and the saddle bill are resident. The three species that occurred in large flocks were the yellow-billed, the marabou and the open bill. The total number of storks in 2010 was lower than in 2009. This decline was attributed to the severe drought that struck the DNP in 2010. Juvenile/female ratio of the African open bill was relatively high but was about equal for the yellow-billed and the marabou. The yellow-billed is polygamous, the African open bill and marabou are monogamous. Marabou, the only stork that roosts in DNP, preferred Balanites aegyptiaca for roosting.
http://onlinejournals.uofk.edu/index.ph ... /2285/2255

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Status of the black stork (Ciconia nigra) in countries other than Estonia

Status of the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Hungary in the year 2000
KALOCSA Bela & TAMAS Eniko Anna
ABSTRACT - Based on a systematic survey, an overall analysis of the nesting habits and breeding success of the Black Stork in Hungary is given, focusing on the densest population. Breeding data throughout the country are updated, the most preferred habitats are determined and population trends are investigated.
Based on data obtained till the end of the year 2000, we can estimate the number of breeding Black Stork pairs in Hungary at 250. In 1996 we estimated the number of breeding pairs at a maximum of 200. The number of known successful breedings in 2000 is 73, the known number of fledged youngs is 263. The average number of young per nest - considering successful breedings - in the year 2000 is 3.6. According to these figures one could conclude that the population has been increasing in the country since the mid-1990's, but this may also indicate an increased observers activity rather than an increase in the number of nesting pairs.
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... 1-4_45.pdf

Status of the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Wallonia (Belgium), and choice of the nesting sites (French article, in English p.36)
Gérard JADOUL & Pauline CABARET
The Black Stork gradually spreads into the areas from which it has historically disappeared, and even extends its distribution into areas where it has never nested before. Since 1989, the number of discovered nests has increased from year to year. In this report, we asked the following questions: what is the progression and colonization mode of the birds in the forest of Wallonia? On which criteria do the storks rely on to choose a nesting site?
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... 1-4_28.pdf

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in France. Revision of the effective breeding birds status (in English p.59)
Villarubias S., Brossault P. & Seriot J.
Summary: It is only in 1973 that the first Black Stork breeding case was recorded for France, in Indre-et-Loire. The breeding success of the bird then was formally proved in 1976, in Jura (LOISEAU, 1977). The Black Stork is discovered again in Indre-et-Loire in 1979, Maine-et-Loire in 1981, Gers in 1983, and during the 1990-1993 period in Deux-SËvres, Aube and Ardennes, Lorraine, Vosges, CÙte d'Or, Cher and Indre. Those two periods of settlement correspond to those noted in Belgium and Luxemburg. In 1990, the Black Stork breeding population was estimated at 13- 17 pairs (DUQUET & MICHEL, 1994). Since 1993, as part of a program on the "rare and threatened breeding birds in France", this species was given a closer look with more frequent censuses. That year, 20-38 pairs were counted especially in the centre and centre-west of the country (MICHEL & VILLARUBIAS, 1995). In 1994, the population is estimated to 23-40 pairs spreading from west to east. Twenty-one to forty-one pairs are counted in 1995, and 22-35 pairs in 1997. Those numbers are approximations due to the discretion of the species. We noted a relative stagnation from year to year, in contradiction with the international situation. Therefore, it was necessary, according to those results collected during the "Cigognes sans frontiËres" program and the national enquiry started in 1999, to estimate more accurately the number and the tendency of the breeding population in France.
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... 1-4_50.pdf

Black storks almost faded back from our nature (Czech Republic, 2011)
Mgr. Anna Hoffmannová, Zoologist
Although black storks are not relatives of sea eagles, they have a lot in common with them. We can even find many places in the Czech Republic where we can meet both species. They don’t need much: only older, widespread forests with trees suitable for building a nest, the vicinity of watercourses or water areas, and a peaceful environment. Both these bird species are sensitive to disturbance and landscape changes caused by unsuitable forestry interventions, especially at the early stage of nesting. This may be the reason why black storks and sea eagles search for protected areas for nesting: The limitation of forest management and the suppression of disturbing human activities create conditions suitable for bringing up the young. The occurrence of both species is tied up with a Palaearctic area and, among others, they have had similar fates also, in that nature almost lost them! Their numbers significantly dropped over the last hundred-plus years, and only in the second half of the 20th century have nesting populations begun to grow again. The dramatic fall in their numbers was caused by humans — especially by direct hunting and thoughtless or unsuitably scheduled interventions in forests.
https://www.zoobrno.cz/img/old/en/more- ... fi-k02.pdf

Phenology of the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) migrations in Ukraine
Vitaly GRISHCHENKO
ABSTRACT - Data on Black Stork migration was collected from 1973 till 2000 for the spring passage and from 1964 till 2000 for the autumn migration. They were grouped based on administrative regions of the country. In spring, Black Storks arrive generally during the second half of March and the first half of April. In West Ukraine, the migration begins earlier. The course of migration is similar to that of White Stork. Periods of autumn migration are more extended and more variable. Normal autumn migration occurs in August and September. The last birds are observed from the end of August till October.
Introduction: Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is one of the rare bird species in Ukraine. It is listed in the Red Book of the country. Southern limit of its present breeding range goes over western and northern regions of Ukraine: Chernivtsi, Khmelnitsky, Zhitomir, Kyiv, Chernigiv, Sumy. Since the 1970s and 1980s, range widening and increase in number were observed (GRISHCHENKO et al., 1992; GRISHCHENKO, 1994a, 1996). The present breeding population is estimated to be at least 400-500 pairs. During migration and over-summering Black Storks can be observed almost in the whole territory of Ukraine.
https://www.aves.be/fileadmin/Aves/Bull ... -4_165.pdf

The Status of Black Stork Population in Belarus Polesie
M.G. DMITRENOK and P.A. PAKUL
The State Scientific and Production Amalgamation "Scientific and practical centre of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for biological resources, Minsk, Belarus
The study was carried out in Belarus Polesie (Stolin district, Brest region). The monitoring plot (95 km2) is located in the valley of the Pripyat River.
Monitoring of the Black Stork Ciconia nigra population number in 2011-2018 showed a small fluctuation in the number of territorial pairs (the density was 24-30 pairs per 100 km2 of forest). Breeding success was changing from 0.5 to 1.4 chicks per territorial pair. The number of chicks per successful pair varied from 2.2 to 3.4. During some years up to 67% of pairs do not start nesting (they visit nests, but do not start breeding).
A significant decline in breeding success was noted in 2015 and is still ongoing (during 2015-2018 breeding success was 0.5-0.8 chicks per pair). We associate this with drought and with a significant decrease in the number of frogs in the forest (from 600-700 individuals per 1 km of route accounting in 2013 to 1-20 individuals per 1 km of rout accounting in 2015-2018). In previous years, frogs were the main food of the Black Stork chicks at the monitoring plot. During the years when the frogs disappeared, the main food of the chicks was small fish.
In 2015-2018 the causes of death of chicks were identified with the help of camera-traps (44 nesting attempt were traced). In our studies, the following animal species were the cause of unsuccessful nesting:
1. Goshawk Accipiter gentilis – one nestling was killed.
2. White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla. In 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 we recorded one case of Black Stork nest destruction per one breeding season. Before 2015, we did not find nests that were ravaged by White-tailed Eagle.
3. Black Stork Ciconia nigra. Two cases of destruction of clutches were recorded because of the attack of other individuals of Black Storks (not from its pair).
Thus, the local population of the Black Stork in the Belarusian Polesie is in a relatively stable state. However, changes in weather conditions (drought) and the subsequent deterioration of the food supply may lead to a drop in the number of the species in the future. Among local species of predators, White-tailed Eagle causes the most significant damage to the local population.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Contributed by Liz01
Longevity and survival of the black stork Ciconia nigra based on ring recoveries (Hungary)
Eniko ̋ Anna Tamás
Abstract: To understand population dynamics, the determination of survival rates is very important. For the black stork Ciconia nigra, no survival rate determination has been published to date. This might be due to the fact that ringing activity and recovery numbers, in general, are still relatively low for the species. The international black stork colour-ringing programme is taking place with the participation of 25 countries including Hungary. Altogether more than 7,000 black storks have been colour-ringed worldwide, of which 1,069 individuals were marked in Hungary. This article’s objective is the determination of the survival rates for the black stork, as well as to estimate the longevity of the species based on live encounters of ringed individuals. The conclusions are that longevity can be estimated based on the data, and is in agreement with previous knowledge; and that the survival rate of the species, with our present knowledge, shows a significant difference between first year (0.1696, 0.1297–0.219) and older birds (0.838, 0.773–0.887).
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j ... 0090-6.pdf

An evaluation of colour-ringing recoveries of Black Storks Ciconia nigra in Hungary
Béla KALOCSA & Enikő Anna TAMÁS
Abstract: The colour-ringing of Black Storks has been carried out in Hungary since 1994. By 2004 we had ringed 497 Black Storks (including 13 in northern Croatia), except for three of them, in their nests, as pulli. Of the ringed birds, 48 individuals have been sighted alive at least once; by April 2004,14 were found dead. We analysed the data according to the place and time of occurrence. Post-breeding, first and second year, and older individuals have been recovered during spring and autumn migration, as well as in the breeding season. Apart from those ringed in Hungary, we observed ten individuals ringed in the Czech Republic, six Black Storks of Slovakian origin, one from Belgium, one from Serbia, one from Poland and two whose ringing place is unknown. Of the individuals ringed in Hungary, some were sighted abroad as well: 24 in Israel, one in Serbia, three in Croatia, and one in Germany.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... to_Hungary

ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION AND BREEDING OF BLACK STORK (Ciconia nigra LINNAEUS 1758) IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF THE COUNTRY (DOLJ COUNTY, Romania)
RIDICHE Mirela Sabina, ILINOIU Adrian
Abstract. In our study, we have synthetized the data regarding the areas of distribution and nesting of the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra LINNAEUS 1758) on the territory of Dolj county, in the south-west of the country. We render the nesting sites already mentioned in the existing scientific literature (Bistre , Z val, ROSPA Calafat-Ciuperceni-the Danube, ROSPA the Jiu-the Danube Confluence) and, based on our own observations made during April-September 2012 and April-July 2013, we highlight certain aspects regarding the nesting of a Black Stork pair in a new location, namely Murga i forest, which is located in the hilly region of Dolj county. During our research, we found two more sites, which provide good environmental conditions for the breeding of the black stork: Radovan and F rca -Plopu villages, also located in the higher region of the county. It is well-known the fact that the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) represents a valuable species with regard to biodiversity and it has a distribution and breeding area that is not sufficiently known. Thus, we consider that the data resulted from our research could highly contribute to a better understanding of the biology, the dynamics and the distribution of this species in our country.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/395a/0 ... 1569068464

Monitoring of the French Black Stork Population
Nicolas GENDRE (LPO France Birdlife), Jean-Jacques BOUTTEAUX (ONF) and Frederic CHAPALAIN (LPO – Birdlife – CRBPO)
Black stork Ciconia nigra, is a heritage species reappeared in France in 1977. It has been the subject of several studies and monitoring programmes at national and regional level. The LPO France – ONF, in coordination with the banding programme, allows an annual national synthesis and a coordination of the different actors. The National Forestry Office (ONF) carries out specific actions to take into account the species in forest management. The majority (66%) of known Black Stork nests are located in public forests (state forests and communal forests) managed by the ONF. In 2017, the LPO France - ONF coordination became aware of 55 nests occupied in France. Those frequented sites without follow-up at the beginning of the season are not counted. As 100% of the nests have not been discovered, it is reasonable to estimate the French breeding population are about 70 pairs (60-80 pairs) in 2017. Breeding pairs of Black Stork are mainly located in the North-eastern part of France.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Trend of Black Stork Ciconia nigra Population in Spain
L.S CANO ALONSO1,2 and J.L. TELLERÍA1
1 Department of Zoology and Physical Antropology, Faculty of Biology Sciences, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
2 IUCN SSC Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group. Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra breeds throughout the Palaearctic and includes populations in the southern tip of Africa. The European breeding population is composed of one large population that ranges from Russia to France and from Baltic countries to Greece and Italy, with one small population in the Iberian Peninsula, geographically isolated at the western corner of the Palaearctic. This study updates the current size and geographical distribution of the breeding population of Black Stork in Spain (2017 breeding season) based on number of active breeding pairs present on nest at the beginning of the breeding season that has been reported directly by regions and experts, and offer additional interpretation of the results on the Breeding Population Census 2017 published by SEO/BirdLife. The current population size and distribution is compared with the population data obtained in 2002 (one generation for this species), using the same criteria. In 2017, the number of active breeding pairs was less than 2002, but there is not a statistically significant difference between periods. The geographical distribution of the species during the breeding period has not changed either. This shows a stabilization of the breeding population of the Black Stork in Spain after two decades of increase. This information should be taken in account to review the conservation status of the small Iberian population.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

The breeding of Black Stork in Italy in 2018
Massimo Brunelli, Lucio Bordignon, Matteo Caldarella, Enzo Cripezzi, Maurizio Fraissinet, Egidio Mallia, Maurizio Marrese, Nicola Norante, Salvatore Urso, Bruno Vaschetti, Gabriella Vaschetti & Matteo Visceglia
In 2018 the annual monitoring of the Italian population of Black Stork recorded the presence of 20 territorial pairs with 45 fledged juveniles.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ma ... O-2018.pdf

The breeding population of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in the Iberian Peninsula
Luis Santiago CANO ALONSO, Cláudia FRANCO, Carlos PACHECO, Susana REIS, Gonçalo ROSA4 & Manuel FERNÁNDEZ-GARCÍA
Abstract: The Iberian Peninsula is situated in the western extreme of Europe, and it is the limit of the Black Stork distribution of the western Palaearctic. The Black Stork in Iberia occupies the southwestern quadrant of the Peninsula in both Portugal and Spain, and is geographically separated from the population in Central and Eastern Europe. In the early nineties, the population was estimated at 230-270 pairs (European Birds Population: estimates and trends). We compiled recent data collected between 1995 and 2002 in a national (Portugal: 1995- 1997) and regional (Spain: 1996-2002) census and surveyed the population of 405-483 pairs (83 confirmed and 13 possible pairs in Portugal and 322 confirmed and 65 possible pairs in Spain). However, the census effort was unequal between all areas and we suspect that the value might be slightly underestimated. The Iberian population represents between 4% and 7% of the European and about half of the European Union breeding population. The increase in the estimates since the early nineties is certainly a result of better coverage and census efforts, but there is some evidence of a small increase in the population. There is apparent stability in the number of pairs in the core area and an expansion in the edge of the distribution. Most nests are placed on rocks (69%) in both riverine and mountain cliffs and the remaining (31%) are in trees, mainly Cork Oak and pines. Finally, we present current threats, limiting factors and conservation measures in both Portugal and Spain.
https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/media/www/ ... a_7_15.pdf

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra in Bavaria - history of expansion, distribution and recent status
Robert Pfeifer
Summary: During the late 19th Century the population of the Black Stork in Central Europe declined dramatically; the species disappeared in Bavaria in the late nineties. In 1947 the first breeding record in the Upper Palatinate marked a slow expansion from eastern Europe into Central Europe. At first, the species established small distribution patches 300-350 km outside its former breeding ränge and filled the intermediate area by a slow but continuous expansion of its ränge within the next 30-40 years. Presently, the breeding population in Bavaria consists of about 50 pairs. Most of them breed in the lower hills and woodlands in the eastern and north-eastern part of Bavaria. Presumable reasons for this ongoing expansion into Central Europe are discussed.
https://www.zobodat.at/stable/pdf/Anzei ... 3-0104.pdf

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra in Calabria:
first confirmed nesting in the province of Cosenza
(Calabria, southern Italy)

Pierpaolo Storino, Giuseppe Rocca & Salvatore Urso
Abstract: In Calabria the Black Stork Ciconia nigra breeds only in the central Ionian sectors of the Region (i.e. “Alto Crotonese” area of the province of Crotone), while in the province of Cosenza single individuals or small feeding aggregations are mainly observed during migration. During the 2018 breeding season, we found the first C. nigra nesting on rocky areas in a small river valley of this provincial area. Extending future investigations to a wider area, we could more accurately quantify the population trend of the species, the number of nesting pairs and their distribution at regional scale.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pi ... OSENZA.pdf

Breeding population of Black Stork, Ciconia nigra, in Italy between 1994 and 2016
Maurizio Fraissinet, Lucio Bordignon, Massimo Brunelli, Matteo
Caldarella, Enzo Cripezzi, Stefano Giustino, Egidio Mallia, Maurizio
Marrese, Nicola Norante, Salvatore Urso, Matteo Visceglia

Abstract: The Black Stork Ciconia nigra, following an expansion on European scale, started breeding in Italy in 1994 with one pair in the Piedmont Region and one in the Calabria Region. Since then, the breeding pairs established in Italy have progressively increased up to 18 in 2016, and they are currently in Piedmont, Lazio, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria. However, the number of breeding pairs could be higher than 20, as indicated by records and observations of adults and juveniles, during the breeding period in potentially suitable nesting areas. Despite the low population density in Italy, the trend in the breeding population in Northwest and in Southern Central regions seems to show a slight and high increase respectively. Productivity, breeding success and fledging rate have been considered and analysed. A difference between the two macro areas has been found in the choice of nesting sites, which is on trees for Northwest couples, and cliffs for Southern Central couples. It is necessary to further explore the reason why the small Northwest population does not show any increase and range expansion compared to the Southern Central one.
https://sisn.pagepress.org/index.php/ri ... e/view/345
Download link: https://sisn.pagepress.org/index.php/ri ... d/345/465/

Breeding of Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in the Lainzer Tiergarten (Vienna) in 2016
Ulrich Straka
The first breeding record of Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Vienna since 1943 is described in the present paper. The breeding site was the Lainzer Tiergarten, a wildlife reserve and important recreation area in the Vienna Woods at the western border of Vienna. The nesting tree was a huge oak (Quercus sp.) situated in a forest stand not open for public access and therefore protected from human disturbance.
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/VNOOe_0027_1-4_0038-0039.pdf

Further breeding records of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in IRAN
ALI TURK QASHQAEI, PARHAM DIBADJ, SHAHROKH SADEGHPOUR, MEHDI JOMEHPOUR, JAVAD ASLANI, MAHMOOD KOLNEGARI, JAFAR GHOLAMI, HAMID AKEFI, EBRAHIM SAKHI, MOHAMMAD ALAVI, FARSHAD NEJAT, PANTEHA ARDANI, SETAREH BABAKI, REIHANEH SABERI PIROOZ, ASHKAN ASHARIUON & FARAHAM AHMADZADEH
Black Stork Ciconia nigra is one of three stork species recorded for Iran and is a rare winter and summer visitor. White Stork C. ciconia has good breeding populations in western Iran and the Woolly-necked Stork C. episcopus is a vagrant (Kaboli et al 2016, Scott & Adhami 2006, Porter & Aspinall 2010). Black Stork has been recorded in much of Iran (Figure 1, Mansoori 2008, Kaboli et al 2016, Porter & Aspinall 2010) though its breeding occurrence and migration routes there are poorly known (Cramp et al 1977). The first confirmed breeding record of Black Stork in Iran was in 1970 (Scott 2007). We present three further breeding records of Black Stork for Iran. During river surveys, breeding of Black Stork was recorded by us at the Karun (Khuzestan province, Plates 1–3), Qaranqu (East Azarbaijan) and Aliabad (Khorasan Razavi) rivers, southwest, northwest and northeast Iran respectively (Figure 1, Table 1). Nesting sites were on cliffs, 20–24 m above the water. There were two young and four white eggs in the Karun river nest (Plate 2), two young at the Qaranqu river nest and two young at the Aliabad river nest. Nests were of tree/ bush twigs and plastic bags.
You can download the full-text pdf here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ra_in_Iran

Distribution and Population Change of Black Storks in CHINA
Junwei LI and Roller MAMING
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 818 Beijing Road, Urumqi, 830011, Xinjiang, P. R. of China.
Black stork Ciconia nigra is an endangered species in the world, and the first-grade protected wild bird in China. At present, we know there are only 24,000 ~ 44,000 in the world, and there are about 1,900 ~3,600 in China. It is a breeding and seasonal migratory bird that is distributed almost all over the country. The main breeding grounds are northeast of the Yellow River Basin (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning), North China (Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong) and Northwest China (Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai). During the migration, it passes through Lop Nur of Xinjiang, Liao River Delta of Liaoning, Beidaihe of Hebei, Yellow River Beach of Huayuankou in Henan. The wintering areas are the Yangtze River Basin and South China and Southwest China (Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Hebei, Jiangxi, Beijing, Anhui, etc.). Although it is widely distributed, its number is scarce. Therefore, it has been listed as an endangered species by the Red Book of China's Endangered Animals (1998).
In the past 10 years, local researchers have continuously monitored the dynamics of populations of Black Stork throughout the country. The results show that: In the winters of 2004~2005, 2007~2008, and 2008~2009, the average number of overwintering Black Stork populations at the Napahai wetland in Yunnan province was 40, 129 and 182, respectively. From 2010 to 2012, the number in the national nature reserve of Heihe River Wetland in Gansu was 310, 380 and 430, respectively. It can be seen that the number is increasing year by year. From 2003 to 2009, the number of Black Storks in the Juma River of Shidu Nature Reserve in Beijing was 15~28 in winter. From 2004 to 2007, 30, 40, 70 and 130 black storks were recorded annually in Gahai lake region of Gansu. From 2005 to 2010, the quantity of Black Storks in the Yehe River of Hebei was monitored, it was found that the population in 2005 was the highest, with an average number of encounters of 8 per month and a maximum population of 14. In 2009, the population was the lowest, with an average number of encounters of 2 per month and a maximum of 7. This indicates that the number of Black Storks in the region showed a decreasing trend.
Xinjiang is the largest province in China, accounting for one sixth of the territory, with a large number of Black Storks. The Tarim Basin is the main breeding ground and distribution area of the largest population of Black Storks in China. During the winter, Black Storks in Xinjiang migrated to South Asia. From March to April, they flew back to the Tarim River, Urumqi, Irtysh River and Aibi Lake for breeding. They often nested in the shallow caves of mountain cliffs and riverside cliffs or on the tall poplar trees in the oasis wetlands, and had the habit of using the old nest. The number of the breeding population in Xinjiang was estimated to be 900~1300, and the number of migratory/passing population is 600~800, it is 1,500~2,100 totally.
We know around the world the number of Black Storks has declined significantly in recent years, it is necessary to understand the reason. Based on the long-term monitoring of Black Storks in different regions, the reasons for the decline of the number of Black Storks are mainly as follows: Habitat degradation, illegal hunting (bird nets, shotguns, poisons, etc.), polluted, human disturbance (tourism activity), electric shock and collision. In view of this, we strongly call on local people and government to pay full attention to the population dynamics of Black Storks, and recommend that relevant departments to actively publicize laws and regulations, and take effective measures to curb illegal hunting activities, and effectively increase people's awareness of protecting wetlands and cherishing wildlife resources. It is hoped to create a good living, breeding and habitat environment for the Black Storks by establishing nature reserves, protecting its habitat and reducing environmental pollution.
http://forestiersdumonde.org/wp-content ... t-Book.pdf

Recent records, review of wintering distribution, habitat choice and associations of Black Stork Ciconia nigra in India and Sri Lanka
Satish PANDE, Amit PAWASHE, Prashant DESHPANDE, Niranjan SANT, Raju KASAMBE & Anil MAHABAL
Abstract: Black Stork Ciconia nigra is an uncommon, wary, winter and passage migrant to India. The wintering population of Black Storks has reduced alarmingly. For Black storks that visit South Asia, India appears to be a major wintering ground. Until 1983, the wintering distribution of these storks is reported to be mainly from Northern India up to Sholapur district, in the Deccan. Our observations indicate that most wintering Black Storks in India are adults and only a few are juveniles. The earliest sightings are in December and the latest are in mid-April.
Our recent surveys and reported observations on the habitat choice of Black Storks in India show that they are found on natural lakes, artificial irrigation reservoirs, on river banks in agricultural or forest country, water bodies in forests, scrub, arid and semi-desert areas as well as on the sea coast.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... asambe.pdf

Birdwatching in India. The Black Stork.
Black storks summering in western Asia migrate to northern and northeastern India, ranging mainly from Punjab south to Karnataka, and Africa. They are occasional visitors to Sri Lanka. Those summering further east in eastern Russia and China winter mainly in southern China, and occasionally in Hong Kong, Myanmar, northern Thailand, and Laos.
They were first recorded in western Myanmar in 1998. ...
The population has declined in Iran due to draining of wetlands. East of the Ural Mountains, the black stork is patchily found in forested and mountainous areas up to 60°‒63° N across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. South of Siberia, it breeds in Xinjiang, northwestern China, northern Mongolia south to the Altai Mountains, and northeastern China south to the vicinity of Beijing. ...
In the Korean Peninsula, the black stork is an uncommon summer visitor, no longer breeding in the south since 1966. Birds have been seen in the northeast but it is not known whether they breed there. Similarly, it has been seen in the summer in Afghanistan, but its breeding status is uncertain.
http://www.aladdin.st/bird-watching/ind ... stork.html

BREEDING STATUS OF THE BLACK STORK IN THE TRANSVAAL (1981)
Warwick Tarboton
Summary
Black Storks were censused in the Transvaal during 1976–81 at 40 breeding sites of which 38 were occupied during at least one of the survey years. The Transvaal Black Stork population was estimated to be 50–70 breeding pairs. The storks bred in winter on cliffs in the hilly parts of the Transvaal, laid 2–5 eggs ([xbar] = 3,37; n = 19) and reared 1–4 young ([xbar] = 2,27; n = 22). Productivity was 2,24 young/clutch laid (n = 37) or 1,38 young/pair-year (n = 60). Pairs failed to breed, on average, in 38% of the years, usually in years of below-average rainfall. In severe drought years as few as a quarter of the known pairs attempted to breed. Coincidentally, in drought years Black Stork numbers increased greatly in the eastern Lowveld (Kruger National Park) where permanent feeding habitat exists but breeding sites are scarce, and it is suggested that this area, and possibly the Limpopo River, provide important drought refuges for Transvaal Black Storks.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10. ... 82.9634745

Ciconia nigra (Black stork) in South Africa
Distribution and habitat:
... There is a separate resident population in Zambia, Angola and southern Africa, bordering on Mozambique and Botswana. It can occupy almost any type of wetland, such as pans, rivers, flood plains, ponds, lagoons, dams, swamp forests, mangrove swamps, estuaries, tidal mudflats and patches of short grass close to water. ...
Predators of eggs and nestlings:
Aquila verreauxii (Verreauxs' eagle, Black eagle)
Polemaetus bellicosus (Martial eagle)
Papio ursinus (Chacma baboon)
Movements and migrations:
Resident and locally nomadic, moving in search of high-quality foraging habitats such as pools and estuaries.
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.info/bi ... _nigra.htm


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Black Stork Feathers

https://www.featherbase.info/de/species/ciconia/nigra

The hand-swings of the black stork are colored deep black-brown with a coppery glow and a full black keel. The inner flag is hardly brightened and the feather base is only slightly grayish lined. The arm swings have the same color and are rectangular in shape. The shield feathers are slightly enlarged. The control feathers are colored deep black - usually even darker than the wings - and only the outer control feathers have a slight whitening of the inner lug. The hand swing H6 to H10 (if this sometimes even vaguely in the lower part is wider) are partially constricted in the outer flag. H11 is completely narrowed. The inner lobes from H7 to H11 are also narrowed. In the habitat of the black stork, it can sometimes come to confusion with feathers of the white stork or the European crane. The white stork has a slightly more brownish inner flag, a clear white inner flag base and a whitish outer flag tire. The wings of the crane are generally lighter, so grayish and the inner flag is noticeably brightened. In addition, the feathers of white stork and crane are much duller, so have no metallic shine.

you can click on the pictures, then it will be enlarged
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xeno-canto Bird sounds from all over the world

Black Stork
https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Ciconia-nigra
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Parasites and diseases in the Black Stork
Avian medicine and microbiology


Essentials of Avian Medicine and Surgery (birds in general; 397 pages!)
Contents:
1 Diversity in Anatomy and Physiology: Clinical Significance
2 The Special Senses of Birds
3 Clinical Examination
4 Aids to Diagnosis
5 Post-mortem Examination
6 Medication and Administration of Drugs
7 Anaesthesia
8 Surgery
9 Nursing and After Care
10 Breeding Problems
11 Release of Casualty Wild Birds
Appendices:
1 An avian formulary
2 Bacterial diseases of birds
3 Viral diseases of birds
4 Mycotic diseases of birds
5 Parasitic diseases of birds
6 Poisons likely to affect birds
7 Some suggested diagnostic schedules
8 Weights of birds most likely to be seen in general practice
9 Incubation and fledging periods of selected birds
10 Glossary
11 Some useful websites
http://scholar.cu.edu.eg/ashrafseida/fi ... dicine.pdf

Recent impact of DDT contamination on Black Stork eggs
Māris Strazds, Hans-Günther Bauer, Ülo Väli, Agnese Kukāre, Vadims Bartkevičs
Abstract: The contamination with DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane) and its breakdown products as a potential cause of population decline of Black Stork has been studied in Latvia since 2008. In order to test if contamination is local or widely distributed, we collected failed eggs from nests also in Estonia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. DDT or its breakdown products were found in all analysed eggs. The ratio of p,p′-DDT as a proportion of all DDT products increased during the years of our research. Since the Black Stork has so far not been mentioned as a species affected by DDT we do not have information about its critical contamination effect levels. However, we also present data suggesting that DDT contamination might have affected Black Stork historically. Current data suggest that the reduction of eggshell thickness has not (yet) reached the levels described as critical for other affected species. However, we found a significant reduction of egg volumes, which in turn negatively affects hatching, as eggs below a threshold size fail to hatch. The ratio of small eggs versus normal eggs has increased by almost 10 % in recent years and is strikingly higher as compared to the pre-DDT period. There is also a significant correlation between eggs of reduced size and their respective DDE (1,1-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethene) values.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 015-1244-z

Contributed by Biker
Black Storks will be tracked on their way to Africa
Maris Strazds
This July eight female Black Storks were equipped with satellite transmitters to follow their travel to wintering areas in Africa and back. The aim of this study is to find out the causes of female mortality after fledging and identify the places where the Black Storks breeding in Latvia might have contracted poisoning with pesticides that have been found in the birds' eggs in recent years
Dr. Maris Strazds, the researcher of Black Storks, explains: "The latest studies show that the Black Stork population of Latvia is very close to critical state. In previous years many of the young storks fledged in poor condition, and females are the most affected. Possibly this is the reason why by the age of 100 days the proportion of females in population is only 20%, not approximately 50% as it should be. This leads to a higher proportion of single males that fight for females destroying some of the otherwise successful nests."
By now the only proved negative impact on the breeding success of Black Stork comes from forestry, but it is possible that one of the reasons for the poor condition of nestlings and high mortality of young females is poisoning with products of DDT decomposition, mainly DDE. This insecticide was banned from use in Europe in 1970s-1980s, but it is still used in Africa and Southeast Asia to combat malaria. It is possible that the Black Storks ingest DDT by catching fish in polluted rivers of Africa, but some of the data indicate sources of poisoning also in breeding areas. DDT or products of its decomposition have been found in all analysed Black Stork eggs since 2008.
Tracking of the Black Storks is part of project "Priority actions for Black Stork conservation in Latvia" carried out by Latvian Ornithological Society and funded by Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. It will be possible to follow the movements of Black Storks in the website www.movebank.org. Project is also supported by TV channel "LNT".
http://www.lob.lv/en/news.php?id=8

A new mite species of the genus Neottialges (Acariformes: Hypoderatidae) from the black stork Ciconia nigra (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae) in Portugal
Sergey V. Mironov 1, 2 David W. R. Ramilo 3
1 UTMN - The University of Tyumen
2 Zoological Institute
3 CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health

Abstract: Deutonymphs of hypoderatid mites (Astigmata: Hypoderatidae) are subcutaneous parasites of various groups of birds and some rodents. A new hypoderatid mite species, Neottialges (Caloenectes) ciconiae n. sp., is described from the black stork, Ciconia nigra (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae), in Portugal. The new species is most similar to but differs from N. (C.) distinctus Fain and Lawrence, 1986 in having smaller prodorsal and hysteronotal shields not encompassing bases of setae si, se, cp, c2, e2 and h1, the area between genital papillae completely sclerotized and fused with sclerotized area of coxal fields III, IV, and by the absence of the postanal shield. A new combination, N. (C.) ellipticus (Nitzsch) n. comb. is proposed for Hypoderas ellipticus Nitzsch in: Giebel (1861), described from Ciconia alba Linnaeus and formerly treated as a species inquirenda.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02183128/document

A New Record of Chaunocephalus ferox (Digenea, Echinostomatidae) from Ciconia nigra in Ukraine
Including Morphological and Molecular Data.

О. B. Greben, O. Kudlai, E. N. Korol, V. V. Kornyushin, I. B. Vasilkovska, V. V. Kobylinsky
Morphological and molecular data on the type-species of Chaunocephalus Dietz, 1910, Chaunocephalus ferox (Rudolphi, 1795) is provided based on material collected from the type-host, Ciconia nigra (Linnaeus), from Kiev Zoo, Ukraine.
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j ... 6-0012.pdf

First Record of Dicheilonema ciconiae (Nematoda, Diplotriaenoidea) from Ciconia nigra (Aves, Ciconiidae) in Ukraine.
Ya. Yu. Syrota, Yu. I. Kuzmin, V. N. Lyaskivskiy, V. V. Kobylinsky, I. B. Vasylkivska
Five specimens of a parasitic nematode Dicheilonema ciconiae (Schrank, 1788) were collected from black stork, Ciconia nigra Linnaeus, in Kyiv Zoological Park. Identi cation of the nematodes was confirmed by morphological examination of the specimens collected. e ornamentation of the body cuticle in caudal region of males (area rugosa) is first described in D. ciconiae.
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j ... 6-0044.pdf

Hematology and blood chemistry of chicks of white and black storks (Ciconia ciconia and Ciconia nigra).
M.L.Puerta∗R.MuÑozPulidoaV.HuecasaM.Abelendaa
Abstract:
1.The hematology and blood chemistry of 15-68-day-old chicks have been studied.
2. Red cell numbers (1,900,000/mm3), hemoglobin content (11.5 g/dl) and hematocrit (37.5) were similar in both species of storks.
3. Total numbers of leucocytes (63,000/mm3) were similar in both species, whilst differential leucocyte counts were not.
4. Higher levels of plasma protein, GOT and cholesterol in HDL were found in white storks when compared with black storks but not differences were detected in plasma levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, urea, uric acid, GPT and alkaline phosphatase.
https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/2573467

Corynebacterium ciconiae sp. nov., isolated from the trachea of black storks (Ciconia nigra)
J. F. Fernandez-Garayzabal, A. I. Vela, R. Egido, R. A. Hutson, M. P. Lanzarot, M. Fernandez-Garcıa and M. D. Collins
ABSTRACT: Eight unidentified Gram-positive, rod-shaped organisms were recovered from the tracheas of apparently healthy black storks (Ciconia nigra) and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Based on cellular morphology and biochemical criteria the isolates were tentatively assigned to the genus Corynebacterium, although three of the organisms did not appear to correspond to any recognized species. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies demonstrated that all of the isolates were phylogenetically members of the genus Corynebacterium. Five strains were genotypically identified as representing Corynebacterium falsenii, whereas the remaining three strains represented a hitherto unknown subline, associated with a small subcluster of species that includes Corynebacterium mastitidis and its close relatives. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, it is proposed that the unknown isolates from black storks represent a novel species within the genus Corynebacterium, for which the Corynebacterium ciconiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CECT 5779T (=BS13T=CCUG 47525T).
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/do ... DC59339BA2

A new herpesvirus isolated from black storks (Ciconia Nigra)
E.F. Kaleta, T. Mikami, H.‐J. Marschall, Ursula Heffels, M. Heidenreich & B. Stiburek
SUMMARY: An infectious agent was isolated from livers, spleens and bone marrow of two black storks (CiconianigraL.) originating from the same source. Pathological lesions consisted of small whitish focal areas in livers, spleens and bone marrow. The isolated agent was sensitive to chloroform and its multiplication was inhibited by 5-iodine-2-deoxy-uridine. It passed filters with a pore diameter of 220 nm and greater but not 100 nm filters. Electron microscopic examination revealed numerous nucleocapsids with hollow capsomeres and few enveloped particles in the supernatant fluids
of infected cultures. The nucleocapsids were calculated to have 162 capsomeres on their surface. Using the plaque reduction method for neutralisation tests no serological cross-reactions could be detected between the stork herpesvirus and sera against Marek's disease virus, turkey herpesvirus, and the Lake Victoria cormorant, amazon parrot, eagle owl, and pigeon herpesviruses. It is concluded that the isolated virus is a member of the avian herpesvirus group and it is proposed to tentatively term it herpesvirus ciconiae (ciconia lat. stork).
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10. ... 8008418415

Cathaemasia hians (Trematoda: Cathaemasiidae) infecting black stork nestlings (Ciconia nigra) from central Spain
Santiago Merino, Javier Martínez, Pilar Lanzarot, Luis S. Cano, Manuel Fernández-García & Filomena Rodríguez-Caabeiro
The trematode Cathaemasia hians is recorded for the first time in nestling Black storks, and for the first time in Black storks in Spain. The parasite was found in the upper part of the oesophagus of Black storks (Ciconia nigra). Presence of this parasite in three nestlings raises the possibility of completion of the parasite’s life cycle in Europe. In addition, a sub-adult bird recuperating from bone fractures was also found to be infected. C. hians is apparently absent from the more common white stork (Ciconia ciconia) from the same area. The different feeding behaviour of the two species of storks may account for this.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10. ... 0120078761

A new acuariid nematode, Syncuaria mackoi n. sp. (Spirurida), from Ciconia nigra (L.) (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae) in Europe
Yasen Mutafchiev, Boyko B. Georgiev
Abstract: Syncuaria mackoi n. sp. is described, based on light and scanning electron microscopy, from the stomach of the black stork Ciconia nigra in Bulgaria. The new species is characterised by: body length 7.18–8.30 mm (males) and 10.13–11.40 mm (females); cordons anastomosing about the level of the middle of the muscular oesophagus and consisting of delicate cuticular plates; bifurcate deirids 7–9 μm long; lateral longitudinal cuticular band-like swellings; nine pairs of pedunculate caudal papillae, i.e. four precloacal and five postcloacal, the latter forming two groups (2 + 3); sixth pair of postcloacal papillae sessile; left spicule 854–907 μm long; right spicule 138–154 μm in length, with a curved distal end resembling a horn and a short lateral projection at some distance from its tip; and vagina vera provided with an anteriorly-directed blind appendix. The specimens identified as S. ciconiae (Gil’bert, 1927) by Macko (1964) from C. nigra in Slovakia are considered as belonging to S. mackoi. A pair of small cupolae situated dorsally and ventrally between bases of cordons of the new species is described for the first time in this genus; they are recognised as homologous to the pair of spines in the same position previously described in S. diacantha Petter, 1961 and S. plegadisi Digiani, 1999.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 008-9138-6

A redescription of Neophilopterus tricolor (Burmeister, 1838) (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from the black stork Ciconia nigra (L.) (Aves) with notes on its prevalence
M. P. LANZAROT, M. P. MARTIN-MATEO, S. MERINO, & M. FERNANDEZ-GARCIA
Abstract: A redescription of Neophilopterus tricolor (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) is presented and its prevalence on black stork nestlings from Comunidad de Madrid (central Spain) is reported for 4 consecutive years. The presence of four long and two short temporal marginal setae, the second row of abdominal tergal setae located across the midline of the segment, and details of the male genitalia are the key differences between N. tricolor and N. incompletus (Denny, 1842). Lice were found only on birds sampled in the last 2 years of this study, infesting 11 nestlings from 19 nests. The overall prevalence for the 4 years is 22% (11 lousy hosts out of 50 nestlings examined). As far as we know, these are the first records and data on prevalence of Neophilopterus tricolor in the Spanish population of Ciconia nigra (L.)
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sa ... c269a7.pdf

Cathaemasia hians in a Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Hungary
Matyas Liptovszky, Gabor Majoros, and Edina Perge
ABSTRACT: Cathaemasia hians is a known parasite of storks (Ciconiformes), though reports on it are infrequent. We describe an adult, injured, wild Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) infected with Cathaemasia hians in Hungary. We also report an ectopic occurrence of Cathaemasia hians in the submucosa of the small intestine.
https://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/pdf/10 ... 8-48.3.809

Hematology and blood parasites of juvenile Black Storks Ciconia nigra in Portugal
Nuno SANTOS, P. SERRA, Margarida FERNANDES, Carlos PACHECO, Cláudia FRANCO & G.ROSA
Abstract
Blood analyses can be used to evaluate wildlife health and serve as indicators of nutritional or disease status, habitat quality, and other environmental stressors. We determined hematologic values in fledgling Black Storks Ciconia nigra in Portugal during the 2003 breeding season. Sixteen samples were obtained from chicks in nests. Blood samples (c. 1 ml) were obtained by venipuncture of physically restrained juveniles aged 28-42 days, placed in 2 ml containers with calcium EDTA, and kept refrigerated until processing. Hematologic parameters determined were hematocrit, hemoglobin, differential white cell count, white blood cell, red blood cell and thrombocyte counts. Hemoglobin concentration was determined either by the alkaline hematin method or by means of an automatic analyser. Mean hematologic values determined were: hemoglobin 9.5 ± 1.3 g/dl (n = 12), white blood cell count 20.8 ± 10.1 x 106/ml (n = 16), red blood cell count 1.3 ± 0.4 x 109/ml (n=16), thrombocyt count 0.17 ± 0.09 x 109/ml (n = 16), and hematocrit 29.3 ± 5 % (n = 9). These values are quite different from the published ones for some individuals of the Spanish population (Puerta et al, 1989). One of our individuals presented an elevated value of WBC (54.3 x 103/ml) which could indicate an infectious condition. The juvenile was closely observed and apparently fledged with no further problems. This study, although drawn from a small sample, is important as complementary information to field monitoring and also as there are still few reference values for this endangered species.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nu ... rtugal.pdf

Nests of the black stork Ciconia nigra as a habitat for mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata)
Jerzy Bloszyk, Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Bruce Halliday, Pawel T. Dolata & Bartlomiej Goldyn
Abstract: We surveyed the Mesostigmatid mite fauna of nests of the black stork Ciconia nigra, to determine the role of these mites in the biology of their hosts. We present preliminary results obtained on the basis of material collected from 31 nests. A total of 1,615 mite specimens was recorded, belonging to 39 species. The most abundant species were Dendrolaelaps strenzkei, Apionoseius infirmus, Macrocheles merdarius and Macrocheles ancyleus, which constituted more than 65% of all the specimens recorded. The presence of large numbers of predatory mites could be beneficial to the birds, if they feed on the eggs and larvae of the bird’s parasites. It is likely that many of the mite species found in these nests were carried there by phoresy on insects, mainly Coleoptera.
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j ... 0146-z.xml

Echinostome fauna from the intestine of the black stork (Ciconia nigra) of China.
Ku C. T. ; Chiu C. C. ; Li M. M. ; Chu H.
Abstract: Allechinostomum nigriciconiatum n.sp. and Chaunocephalus sinensis n.sp. from the small intestine of Ciconia nigra from Nanyoa in Hunan Province and Tientsin, respectively, in China, are described and illustrated. A. nigriciconiatum differs from A. crocodili, A. famelicum, A. jacaretinga and A. renale in having post-ovarian uterine loops; it also differs from A. famelicum in having smaller collar spines and ova, and in the position of the vitellaria, which begin at the level of the ovary. Chaunocephalus sinensis differs from C. ferox mainly in having vitelline follicles arranged in transverse rows and extending to the posterior extremity, smaller corner spines and eggs of greater diameter. The taxonomic positions of Allechinostomum Odhner, 1911 and Chaunocephalus Dietz, 1909 are discussed, and keys to their species are given. Both genera are recorded for the first time in East Asia as well as in China. C. ferox from Ciconia nigra in Nanyoa, Hunan is also briefly described, the dimensions of its organs being greater than in previous descriptions of the species.
https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abs ... 9740811928


POSSIBLE INJURIES caused by backpack harnesses and rings (birds in general)

Contributed by Biker
Humeral remodeling and soft tissue injury of the wings caused by backpack harnesses for radio transmitters in New Zealand Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri)
Sarah Michael, Brett David Gartrell, Stuart Hunter
Abstract
Backpack harnesses are commonly used to attach radio and satellite transmitters to a wide range of bird species for research and conservation management. They are an integral part of the conservation management of the New Zealand Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri), an endangered flightless rail. Radio transmitters mounted on backpack harnesses enable the birds to be tracked in their remaining native range of remote, mountainous Fiordland, New Zealand. We evaluated 26 Takahē retrospectively at necropsy by gross examination, radiography, and computed tomography to assess damage from the backpack harness. Ten birds that had never worn a harness had no evidence of wing injury. Of the 16 birds that had worn a harness, 10 (63%) had superficial soft tissue injury to skin or patagium or more severe injury, such as remodeling of the distal humerus at the harness cord-wing interface, or pathologic fractures. Such injuries are hypothesized to be associated with discomfort, increased risk of infection or fracture, and therefore reduced fitness. These findings have implications for all avian species deployed with backpack harnesses.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... chstetteri

Contributed by Liz01
Causes of Ring-Related Leg Injuries in Birds – Evidence and Recommendations from Four Field Studies
Michael Griesser, Nicole A. Schneider, Mary-Anne Collis, Anthony Overs, Michael Guppy, Sarah Guppy, Naoko Takeuchi, Pete Collins, Anne Peters, Michelle L. Hall
Abstract
One of the main techniques for recognizing individuals in avian field research is marking birds with plastic and metal leg rings. However, in some species individuals may react negatively to rings, causing leg injuries and, in extreme cases, the loss of a foot or limb. Here, we report problems that arise from ringing and illustrate solutions based on field data from Brown Thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla) (2 populations), Siberian Jays (Perisoreus infaustus) and Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus). We encountered three problems caused by plastic rings: inflammations triggered by material accumulating under the ring (Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens), contact inflammations as a consequence of plastic rings touching the foot or tibio-tarsal joint (Brown Thornbills), and toes or the foot getting trapped in partly unwrapped flat-band colour rings (Siberian Jays). Metal rings caused two problems: the edges of aluminium rings bent inwards if mounted on top of each other (Brown Thornbills), and too small a ring size led to inflammation (Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens). We overcame these problems by changing the ringing technique (using different ring types or larger rings), or using different adhesive. Additionally, we developed and tested a novel, simple technique of gluing plastic rings onto metal rings in Brown Thornbills. A review of studies reporting ring injuries (N = 23) showed that small birds (<55 g body weight) are more prone to leg infections while larger birds (>35 g) tend to get rings stuck over their feet. We give methodological advice on how these problems can be avoided, and suggest a ringing hazard index to compare the impact of ringing in terms of injury on different bird species. Finally, to facilitate improvements in ringing techniques, we encourage online deposition of information regarding ringing injuries of birds at a website hosted by the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING).
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/artic ... ne.0051891


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Incubation: Heating the Egg
For an egg to develop normally, it must be exposed for a considerable length of time to temperatures a few degrees below the normal 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) avian body temperature. Indeed, the ideal incubation temperature for many birds' eggs is about human body temperature, 98.6 degrees F. Almost all birds create the required temperature by sitting on the eggs and incubating them, often transferring heat via a temporarily bare area of abdominal skin called the "brood patch." A few birds, like penguins, pelicans, and gannets, transfer heat through their webbed feet. A unique form of incubation is found in the turkey-like megapodes of Australia. They heat their eggs by depositing them in a large mound of decaying vegetation, which the birds have scratched together. By opening and closing the mound as needed, the birds carefully regulate the heat of decomposition, which takes the place of the parental body heat used in normal incubation.

On the other hand, the embryo inside the egg is also very sensitive to high temperatures, so that in some situations eggs must be protected from the sun. Ducks with open nests, for example, will pull downy feathers (originally plucked to form their brood patches) over the nest to cover the eggs when they leave it, providing shade if the weather is hot and helping to retard heat loss when it is cold. Open-nesting ducks usually have camouflage down that does not reveal the nest's location; hole-nesting ducks have white down. Other species may stand over the nest and shade the eggs when temperatures rise. Killdeer and some other shorebirds soak the feathers of their bellies and use them to wet the eggs before shading, thus helping to cool the developing embryos by evaporative heat loss.

Embryos are less sensitive to cold than to heat, particularly before incubation has started. Mallard eggs have been known to crack by freezing and still hatch successfully. Eggs cool when incubation is interrupted, but this is not usually harmful, and few birds incubate continuously. Instead egg temperature is regulated in response to changes in the temperature of the environment by varying the length of time that a parent bird sits on them or the tightness of the "sit." For instance, female House Wrens (which incubate without help from the males) sat on the eggs for periods averaging 14 minutes when the temperature was 59 degrees F (15 degrees C), but an average of only 7.5 minutes when it rose to 86 degrees F (30 degrees C).

Many birds apparently sense the egg temperature with receptors in the brood patches, which helps them to regulate their attentiveness (time spent incubating) more accurately. Since the embryo itself increasingly generates heat as it develops, periods of attentiveness should generally decline as incubation progresses. Attentiveness is also influenced by the insulating properties of a particular nest.

Eggs are also turned periodically -- from about every eight minutes by American Redstarts to once an hour by Mallards. The turning presumably helps to warm the eggs more evenly, and to prevent embryonic membranes from sticking to the shell.

http://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordb ... ation.html
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Post by Anne7 »

The family Ciconiidae

The family of Ciconiidae (storks)
The family Ciconiidae includes 6 genera, and 19 species.
The genus Anastomus, or openbill storks, includes 2 species:
• African openbill - Anastomus lamelligerus
• Asian openbill - Anastomus oscitans
The genus Ciconia, or typical storks, includes 7 species:
• Abdim’s stork - Ciconia abdimii
• Black stork - Ciconia nigra
• Maguari stork - Ciconia maguari
• Oriental stork - Ciconia boyciana
• Storm’s stork - Ciconia stormi
• White stork - Ciconia ciconia
• Woolly-necked stork - Ciconia episcopus
The genus Ephippiorhynchus includes 2 species:
• Black-necked stork - Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
• Saddle-billed stork - Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
The genus Jabiru includes only 1 species:
• Jabiru - Jabiru mycteria
The genus Leptoptilos includes 3 species:
• Greater adjutant - Leptoptilos dubius
• Lesser adjutant - Leptoptilos javanicus
• Marabou stork - Leptoptilos crumenifer
The genus Mycteria includes 4 species:
• Milky stork - Mycteria cinerea
• Painted stork - Mycteria leucocephala
• Wood stork or ‘wood ibis’ - Mycteria americana
• Yellow-billed stork - Mycteria ibis

Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes. Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibises, but those families have been moved to other orders. ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stork

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World (BOOK)
James Hancock, James A. Kushlan, M. Philip Kahl

Complete mitochondrial genome of Ciconia nigra (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae), a threatened stork in China 2019
Wu-Long Liang, Jun Zhu & Zhu-Mei Ren
Abstract: The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of black stork Ciconia nigra from North China was sequenced by shotgun genome-skimming method. The mitogenome of C. nigra was 17,787 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs, and one non-coding control region (D-loop). All protein-coding genes initiate with ATG codon except for ND2, ND3, and COX1, which uses ATA, ATC, and GTG as their initiation codons, respectively. The termination codon of protein-coding genes shows rich diversity with six termination codons (TAA, AGG, AGA, TAG, T, and A). The phylogenetic trees based on 13 protein-coding genes showed that Ciconia formed a monophyletic group, which was sister to the clade clustered by Threskiorothidae species.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... 19.1640082

Phylogeny of the avian family Ciconiidae (storks) based on cytochrome b sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization distances.
Slikas B
Abstract
This study is a phylogenetic analysis of the avian family Ciconiidae, the storks, based on two molecular data sets: 1065 base pairs of sequence from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and a complete matrix of single-copy nuclear DNA-DNA hybridization distances. Sixteen of the nineteen stork species were included in the cytochrome b data matrix, and fifteen in the DNA-DNA hybridization matrix. Both matrices included outgroups from the families Cathartidae (New World vultures) and Threskiornithidae (ibises, spoonbills). Optimal trees based on the two data sets were congruent in those nodes with strong bootstrap support. In the best-fit tree based on DNA-DNA hybridization distances, nodes defining relationships among very recently diverged species had low bootstrap support, while nodes defining more distant relationships had strong bootstrap support. In the optimal trees based on the sequence data, nodes defining relationships among recently diverged species had strong bootstrap support, while nodes defining basal relationships in the family had weak support and were incongruent among analyses. A combinable-component consensus of the best-fit DNA-DNA hybridization tree and a consensus tree based on different analyses of the cytochrome b sequences provide the best estimate of relationships among stork species based on the two data sets.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9417889

D-loop deletion in the mitochondrial DNA of the Black Stork Ciconia nigra 2006
Fernanda SIMÕES, Carla BORGES, José Manuel CABALLERO, Cláudia FRANCO, José MATOS & Margarida FERNANDES
Abstract
The black stork Ciconia nigra is a migrant species which is poorly known and has a history of strong decline in the last century, with local extinctions and recolonizations in Central Europe. Few genetic studies have been reported for this species, and only a few conservative regions of DNA sequences are known. Using black stork samples from several European locations, we have been able to characterise a short variable region of Ciconia nigra mitochondrial D-loop. A 22 bp deletion was found, in comparison to available mitochondrial sequences from other stork species - Ciconia ciconia and Ciconia boyciana. This molecular data provides additional information on the unresolved phylogenetic relationships among storks of the genus Ciconia. This work is the first report on D-loop sequences from the black stork.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9957/c ... 1569068464

Phylogeny of the species of Ciconia (Aves, Ciconiidae) based on cranial osteological characteristics
Suely Silva Santos, Stella Yasmin Lima Nobushige, Arthur Serejo Neves Ribeiro, Francisco das Chagas Vieira Santos, Reginaldo José Donatelli, Guilherme José Bolzani de Campos Ferreira, Anderson Guzzi
ABSTRACT: The Family Ciconiidae currently comprises 19 species distributed primarily in the tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Recent studies on phylogeny within the genus and families of birds provided a new opportunity for the analysis of the cranial structure in a phylogenetical context. Consequently, the aim was to describe in detail the cranial osteology of the representative species of Ciconia (C. abdimii, C. ciconia, C. episcopus, C. maguari and C. nigra), aiming to compare the characters found amongst the species that form this genus and these with the one from other members of the Family Ciconiidae and determine the family relationships amongst the species, using the methodology of phylogenetic systematic. Cranial osteology has proven to be a good tool for the cladistic analysis of the genus Ciconia, providing osteologic characters that proves the monophyly of the group. The topology of the tree obtained in the present study has revealed itself as well resolved, presenting positive perspectives to the morphologic studies of the genus. The cladogram presented corroborates the hypothesis of the monophyletic characteristic of the Ciconia, the C. ciconia being the most basal of the genus. The topology of the cladogram is: (C. ciconia ((C. nigra (C. abdimii C. episcopus)) C. maguari)). In general, Ciconia presents a specialized skull, with peculiar characteristics and different from what is observed in other groups of birds.
https://www.comunicatascientiae.com.br/ ... d/3032/594

A Review of the Australian Fossil Storks of the Genus Ciconia (Aves: Ciconiidae), With the Description of a New Species
WALTER E. BOLES
ABSTRACT. Only a single species of stork, the Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus (= Xenorhynchus) asiaticus, occurs in Australia today, and is known from several fossil localities from the Early Pliocene. Two species of smaller fossil storks are also known, one previously named and one described here. The former, found in the Darling Downs, southeastern Queensland, was named Xenorhynchus nanus De Vis, 1888. Some later authors suggested that this species should be transferred to the living genus Ciconia; this decision is confirmed here, the name for this species becoming Ciconia nana. The second species of small stork comes from several Late Oligocene and Early Miocene sites at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland. This taxon is referred to the genus Ciconia and distinguished as a new species, C. louisebolesae. It constitutes the earliest record of the Ciconiidae from Australia.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wa ... 96dffe.pdf

Giant fossil bird found on 'hobbit' island of Flores
By Emma Brennand
A giant marabou stork has been discovered on an island once home to human-like 'hobbits'.
Fossils of the bird were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores, a place previously famed for the discovery of Homo floresiensis, a small hominin species closely related to modern humans. The stork may have been capable of hunting and eating juvenile members of this hominin species, say researchers who made the discovery, though there is no direct evidence the birds did so. The finding, reported in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, also helps explain how prehistoric wildlife adapted to living on islands.
Image
Artist’s impression of the size of the giant stork next to a Homo floresiensis "hobbit" (© L. Van Noortwijk).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_ne ... 261713.stm


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BIRDS IN GENERAL

Bird anatomy

About Bird Anatomy
Bird anatomy, or the physiological structure of birds' bodies, shows many unique adaptations, mostly aiding flight. Birds have a light skeletal system and light but powerful musculature which, along with circulatory and respiratory systems capable of very high metabolic rates and oxygen supply, permit the bird to fly. The development of a beak has led to evolution of a specially adapted digestive system. These anatomical specialisations have earned birds their own class in the vertebrate eggum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_anatomy


Skeletal system

Bird Skeletons
Pneumatic bones
Brian McCauley
Birds have pneumatic (air-filled) bones; the air spaces may make up the majority of the bone's volume. In mammals, bones are generally solid, or else filled with marrow. Why do birds have pneumatic bones? The traditional explanation is that pneumatic bones evolved because it makes the bones lighter, enabling birds to fly better. There are two problems with this explanation. First, many large, nonflying dinosaurs also had pneumatic bones. If pneumatic bones evolved before flight, they didn't evolve because of flight. Second, birds don't necessarily have lighter skeletons than mammals of equivalent size. Although birds' bones contain air spaces, the bone tissue is denser, so it their pneumatic bones aren't necessarily lighter than the solid bones of a mammal with the same mass. This doesn't say that pneumatic bones aren't relevant to flight, though. The hollow, dense construction of bird bones does give them greater rigidity than comparable mammal bones. However, just because pneumatic bones function well for flying, that doesn't mean that they originally evolved as a result of natural selection for improved flight.

Bird skeleton
(from Wikimedia Commons)
Image
The numbered bones are:
1. Skull
2. Cervical vertebrae
3. Furcula (fused clavicles)
4. Coracoid
5. Uncinate processes on ribs
6. Sternum with large keel
7. Patella (kneecap; a tiny, floating bone that might be missing from lab specimens)
8. Tarsometatarsus
9. Toes (phalanges)
10. Tibiotarsus
11. Tibiotarsus (again)
12. Femur
13. Ischium (part of the innominate, or hip bone)
14. Pubi (part of the innominate bone)
15. Ilium (part of innominate bone)
16. Caudal (tail) vertebrae
17. Pygostyle ( the last few fused caudal, or tail vertebrae)
18. Synsacrum (fused vertebrae of the sacral, or lower back, region)
19. Scapula
20. Lumbar vertebrae
21. Humerus
22. Ulna
23. Radius
24. Carpometacarpus (looks like two bones fused)
25. Phalanx (plural: phalanges)
26. Phalanx
27. Alula ("thumb")

Pelvic girdle, legs & feet

Image
Femur: The upper leg bone is easy to recognize and is homologous to the femur of mammals.
Tibiotarsus: In birds, part of the tarsus is fused with the tibia. The tarsus in mammals consists of seven bones in the foot.
Fibula: very small in birds.
Tarsometatarsus: Part of the tarsus is fused with the metatarsus into a single bone. Thus, the "ankle" of birds is actually within the tarsus, which corresponds to the small bones of the human foot. Overall, birds have fewer bones in their feet than mammals do. Like the tibiotarsus, the tarsometatarsus is found in birds but not mammals.
Toes: Most birds have four toes on each foot. Most birds have one toe facing backwards, allowing the feet to grip. Some birds, such as woodpeckers, have two toes facing back and two facing forward. The toe bones in birds' feet, like those in mammals, are called phalanges. Finger bones are also called phalanges.

Pectoral girdle & wings
Diagram from Wikimedia Commons.
Image
The pectoral girdle is the set of bones that supports the forelimbs (wings).
In birds, it includes the furcula, scapula and coracoid:

Furcula (wishbone): The furcula apparently corresponds to the clavicles (collarbones) of mammals. In birds, these bones are fused into a single structure. The furcula is springy; when a bird flies, it flexes in and out, storing and returning energy like a spring. This spring action wouldn't be possible if birds had two separate clavicles instead of a single furcula. It makes sense to view this structure as an adaptation to flight, but many nonflying dinosaurs (including Tyrannosaurus rex!) also had a furcula, so this fused structure didn't originate as an evolutionary response to flying. On the other hand, the furcula of T. rex and similar species was short and not structured to be springy. The furcula of birds did not originate as an adaptation to flight, but it has certainly been shaped by selection for efficient flying.
Scapula: The scapula (shoulder blade) of birds is proportionally much smaller and flatter than that of most mammals. This means that the space for muscle attachments is limited, as is the leverage that these muscles can produce. Birds don't have large back muscles. As mentioned above, muscles in the chest area are used for both raising and lowering the wings. Do you think that the small, flat scapula of birds is an adaptation to flight? Take a moment to consider how you would answer this question.
Coracoid: Forming a part of the pectoral girdle supporting the wings in birds, the coracoid connects the shoulder joint (head of the humerus) to the sternum. Thanks to the rigid coracoid, the bird's chest does not get flattened when the bird flaps its wings. In most mammals, the pectoral girdle consists only of the scapula and the clavicle; there is no coracoid bone.

The wing skeleton includes these bones:
Humerus, radius, ulna: These bones are quite similar to their homologs in most mammals.
Carpometacarpus: This bone is homologous to both the mammalian carpal and metacarpal bones. Overall, the number of "hand" and "finger" bones in birds is greatly reduced compared to most other reptiles or to mammals. The joint betweeen the carpometacarpus and the ulna (along with the radius) more or less corresponds to the wrist. In birds, this joint has a wide range of lateral movement, allowing birds to fold their wings when at rest.
Phalanges: Phalanx is singular, phalanges is plural. Phalanges are finger bones, for birds or humans. Birds only have three "fingers"; their ancestors apparently had five, as do humans. The first one, roughly corresponding to a thumb, is called the alula. The alula bone supports a few feathers that can be moved separately from the others on the wing. (Incidentally, the word alula is Latin for "little wing."
https://brianmccauley.net/bio-6a/bio-6a ... -skeletons

Bone density and the lightweight skeletons of birds
Elizabeth R. Dumont
The skeletons of birds are universally described as lightweight as a result of selection for minimizing the energy required for flight. From a functional perspective, the weight (mass) of an animal relative to its lift-generating surfaces is a key determinant of the metabolic cost of flight. The evolution of birds has been characterized by many weight-saving adaptations that are reflected in bone shape, many of which strengthen and stiffen the skeleton. Although largely unstudied in birds, the material properties of bone tissue can also contribute to bone strength and stiffness. In this study, I calculated the density of the cranium, humerus and femur in passerine birds, rodents and bats by measuring bone mass and volume using helium displacement. I found that, on average, these bones are densest in birds, followed closely by bats. As bone density increases, so do bone stiffness and strength. Both of these optimization criteria are used in the design of strong and stiff, but lightweight, manmade airframes. By analogy, increased bone density in birds and bats may reflect adaptations for maximizing bone strength and stiffness while minimizing bone mass and volume. These data suggest that both bone shape and the material properties of bone tissue have played important roles in the evolution of flight. They also reconcile the conundrum of how bird skeletons can appear to be thin and delicate, yet contribute just as much to total body mass as do the skeletons of terrestrial mammals.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/ ... .2010.0117

The layered structure of bones of birds as a possible indication of age
R.W.M. van Soest & W.L. van Utrecht
Abstract:
A method of age determination, new in birds, is described. The method has been derived from similar methods commonly used to determine age of fishes, amphibians, reptilians, and mammals. It consists of demonstrating, by preparation of transverse transparent sections, the presence of annual deposits in the periosteal zone (= zone of outer circumferential lamellae) of bone. Evidence is presented that the layered structures in the periosteal zone are indeed annual and thus related with age.
https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/ ... -p61_8.pdf

REINFORCING STRUCTURES IN AVIAN WING BONES
E. Novitskaya, M.S. Ribero Vairo, J. Kiang, M.A. Meyers, J. McKittrick
ABSTRACT
Nearly all species of modern birds are capable of flight; therefore mechanical competency of appendages and the rigidity of their skeletal system should be optimized. Birds have developed extremely lightweight skeletal systems that help aid in the generation of lift and thrust forces as well as helping them maintain flight over, in many cases, extended periods of time. The humerus and ulna of different species of birds (flapping, flapping/soaring, flapping/gliding, and non-flying) have been analyzed by optical microscopy and mechanical testing. The reinforcing structures found within bones vary from species to species, depending on how a particular species utilizes its wings. Interestingly, reinforcing ridges and struts have been found within certain sections of the bones of flapping/soaring and flapping/gliding birds (vulture and sea gull), while the bones from the flapping bird (raven) and non-flying bird (domestic duck) did not have supporting structures of any kind. The presence of these reinforcing structures increases the resistance to torsion and flexure with a minimum weight penalty, and is therefore of importance in flapping/gliding birds. Vickers hardness testing was performed on the compact section of the bones of all bird species. The data from the mechanical testing were compared with microstructural observations to determine the relevance behind the reinforcing structures and its mechanical and biological role. Finite element analysis was used to model the mechanical response of vulture ulna in torsion.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ek ... 121cef.pdf

Extreme lightweight structures: avian feathers and bones
Tarah N.Sullivan, Bin Wang, Horacio D.Espinosa, Marc A.Meyers
Flight is not the exclusive domain of birds; mammals (bats), insects, and some fish have independently developed this ability by the process of convergent evolution. Birds, however, greatly outperform other flying animals in efficiency and duration; for example the common swift (Apus apus) has recently been reported to regularly fly for periods of 10 months during migration. Birds owe this extraordinary capability to feathers and bones, which are extreme lightweight biological materials. They achieve this crucial function through their efficient design spanning multiple length scales. Both feathers and bones have unusual combinations of structural features organized hierarchically from nano- to macroscale and enable a balance between lightweight and bending/torsional stiffness and strength. The complementary features between the avian bone and feather are reviewed here, for the first time, and provide insights into nature's approach at creating structures optimized for flight. We reveal a novel aspect of the feather vane, showing that its barbule spacing is consistently within the range 8–16 μm for birds of hugely different masses such as Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) (4 g) and the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) (11,000 g). Features of the feather and bone are examined using the structure-property relationships that define Materials Science. We elucidate the role of aerodynamic loading on observed reinforced macrostructural features and efficiently tailored shapes adapted for specialized applications, as well as composite material utilization. These unique features will inspire synthetic structures with maximized performance/weight for potential use in future transportation systems.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 211730072X


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Post by Anne7 »

Bird anatomy

2. Muscular system
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Bird anatomy

3. Integumentary system
( = relating to an enveloping or external layer or covering as skin, scales, feathers, or cuticle)


Scales

A scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection.
The scales of birds are composed of keratin, like beaks, claws, and spurs. They are found mainly on the toes and tarsi (lower leg of birds), usually up to the tibio-tarsal joint, but may be found further up the legs in some birds. In many of the eagles and owls the legs are feathered down to (but not including) their toes. Most bird scales do not overlap significantly, except in the cases of kingfishers and woodpeckers. The scales and scutes of birds were originally thought to be homologous to those of reptiles; however, more recent research suggests that scales in birds re-evolved after the evolution of feathers.
Bird embryos begin development with smooth skin. On the feet, the corneum, or outermost layer, of this skin may keratinize, thicken and form scales.
These scales can be organized into:
- Cancella – minute scales which are really just a thickening and hardening of the skin, crisscrossed with shallow grooves.
- Scutella – scales that are not quite as large as scutes, such as those found on the caudal, or hind part, of the chicken metatarsus.
- Scutes – the largest scales, usually on the anterior surface of the metatarsus and dorsal surface of the toes.
The rows of scutes on the anterior of the metatarsus can be called an "acrometatarsium" or "acrotarsium".

Reticula are located on the lateral and medial surfaces (sides) of the foot and were originally thought to be separate scales. However, histological and evolutionary developmental work in this area revealed that these structures lack beta-keratin (a hallmark of reptilian scales) and are entirely composed of alpha-keratin.This, along with their unique structure, has led to the suggestion that these are actually feather buds that were arrested early in development.


IDENTIFICATION OF PEREGRINE FALCONS
USING A COMPUTERISED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM OF TOE-SCALE PATTERN ANALYSIS

Abstract: Individual Pleregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) may be identified by visually comparing their toe-scale patterns. However, these comparisons are tedious when dealing with large numbers of birds. We developed a computerised classification system to facilitate the identification process.The classification system was based on the analysis of photographs of the dorsal surface of the third toes of both feet, and on the formulation of an alphanumeric code that distinguished right from left feet, and single from double scales of 90 Peregrine Falcons (F.p. anatum). Each code was entered into a computerised filing program, and toe-scale patterns were classified by similarities, dividing them into groups.The system was tested by randomly selecting photographs on file, generating a code by established criteria and matching the code with the computerised file code. The system allowed quick differentiation of individual Peregrine Falcons from a large number of catalogued Peregrine Falcons.
http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/resea ... n_1993.pdf

Passerine foot-scutes
"... Bilateral asymmetry of individuals and individual uniqueness of details of patterns of foot-scutes are apparently characteristic for many bird species.The extent of individual variation is reminiscent of the well-known ones for human fingerprints, palms, soles, and toes...
The papillae are resilient and after indentation by weak pressures tend to regain their original shapes, as I have seen on thawed carcasses. Furthermore the firm attachment of papillae and scutes seemingly tends to prevent changes in their alignment, though presumably severe injuries or diseases might alter the appearance ...
... Little is known about the molting of either tarsal scutes or those on the feet. Jeffries(1883) reported such molting, but apparently the most detailed observations are the brief remarks of Gullion (1953) on the American Coot (Fulica americana). Neither these accounts nor my observations indicate that molting modifies the arrangement in scutellation..."
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/file ... -p0558.pdf



Rhamphotheca and podotheca
(rhamphotheca = covering on beaks; podotheca = the scaly covering of the foot of a bird or reptile)

The bills of many waders have Herbst corpuscles which help them find prey hidden under wet sand, by detecting minute pressure differences in the water. All extant birds can move the parts of the upper jaw relative to the brain case. However this is more prominent in some birds and can be readily detected in parrots.
The region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head is called the lore. This region is sometimes featherless, and the skin may be tinted, as in many species of the cormorant family.
The scaly covering present on the foot of the birds is called podotheca.

The peripheral morphological basis of tactile sensibility in the beak of geese
K. -M. Gottschaldt, Susanne Lausmann
Summary:
The distribution, form variability and organization of two types of encapsulated mechanoreceptors, the Grandry and the Herbst corpuscles, were studied in the beak of geese. (1) In the beak skin Grandry corpuscles were found 20 to 150 μ below the epidermis in the domestic goose (Anser anser) and 1 to 80 μ deep in the white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons). The Herbst corpuscles lay deeper beneath the base of the epidermis, 70 to 310 μ in the domestic goose and 10 to 120 μ in the white-fronted goose. (2) The number of both types of receptors increased towards the distal portions of the beak skin, the Grandry corpuscles being roughly ten times more numerous than the Herbst corpuscles. Grandry corpuscles are particularly numerous in the prominent dermal ridges of the beak skin. (3) In Anser anser and Anser albifrons the Grandry corpuscles displayed a complexity unusual for other birds. Up to twelve specialized Grandry cells in a single corpuscle were found, and over fifty percent of all corpuscles consisted of more than two specialized cells. The average number of specialized cells in Grandry corpuscles increased towards the distal beak skin. (4) Underneath the horny plate, covering the tip of the upper and lower bill, both kinds of receptors occur but the Grandry corpuscles are less frequent than the Herbst corpuscles. The Grandry corpuscles are strikingly associated with connective tissue strands that often link several corpuscles into chains of spindle-like formations. The Herbst corpuscles occur in large numbers deep beneath the horny plate and in bony lacunae. (5) In the tip of the upper and the lower bill a complex sense organ, the bill tip organ, was discovered. It consists of a large number of processes emerging from deep connective tissue, which contain various kinds of mechanoreceptors. These processes run in horny tubules towards the surface of the distal rim of the horny tip of the bill and probably are moved in their longitudinal axis on mechanical stimulation. (6) The morphological findings are discussed in respect to the problem of the structure and function of the mechanoreceptors in the beak of birds.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00231542



Beak

The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young. Although beaks vary significantly in size, shape and color, they share a similar underlying structure. Two bony projections—the upper and lower mandibles—covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca. In most species, two holes known as nares lead to the respiratory system.


Posted here: https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/vie ... 93#p652593
Is Your Parrot’s Peeling Beak Normal?
...Like our nails, a beak is made of keratin. And like our nails, beak tissue is continually growing. Normally, if a bird is on a good diet, a healthy beak will take care of itself. As it navigates its cage and chews on wooden toys, the beak is naturally groomed and any overgrowth is worn down.
There is always a fresh supply of new beak growth just under the existing beak, and it makes its way to the surface by sloughing off the old outer growth. This means that sometimes the visible part of the beak begins to peel away.
In fact, you will more often see a peeling appearance in your bird’s beak than not. Sometimes it looks extreme, but it is all part of the normal growth process. It is not unusual for a bird to try to hurry the process by rubbing its beak against hard surfaces. I try to gently discourage this behaviour when I see it happen. I have seen birds wear grooves into their beaks from the cage bars when they become obsessive in this activity. ...
https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdt ... eak-normal

Posted by Liz01, here: https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/vie ... 45#p652745
Adaptations » Beaks » Feed Me
Birds don't have teeth, paw, hands, antlers, horns, or spines, but they do have beaks.
The beak – also known as the bill – has two parts: the upper mandible and the lower mandible.
The upper mandible is a fancy name for a bird's upper beak or upper bill. The upper mandible grows out of the skull, just as your upper teeth grow out of your skull. The upper mandible doesn't move independently from the skull.
The lower mandible is the scientific name for a bird's lower beak or bill. The lower mandible can move independently because it's hinged. It can move up and down, just like your jaw.
Unlike your teeth, beaks are covered with skin. This skin produces a substance called keratin – the same material feathers, hair, and fingernails are made of. The keratin produced by a bird's beak will dry and condense to make the bill hard and durable. The dried keratin also gives the beak a glossy appearance. As the keratin wears down, it's replaced so the beak will remain sharp.
Does having a beak make up for not having teeth, paws, hands, antlers, horns or spines? It has to. Birds must rely on their beaks to carry out many different tasks.
The number one use for the beak is to gather or capture food. However, birds also use beaks to pick up building materials and construct their nests. (Think about building a house with your mouth!)
But birds use beaks for even more. When they have to, birds use beaks and feet as weapons to defend themselves, their nests, and their chicks.
Birds use beaks for drinking, feeding their young, and preening.
Some birds, like the American White Pelican, even grow special structures on their beaks during the breeding season to make themselves more attractive (at least, to each other).
Beaks come in a wonderful assortment of shapes and sizes, each perfectly suited for that particular bird's favourite foods and typical feeding behaviours.
Some beaks are specialized to be just right for certain diets. Birds with these bills use them the same way you use a spoon to eat ice cream or a fork to eat salad.
http://projectbeak.org/adaptations/beaks.htm

Posted here: https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/vie ... 51#p542751
The wonderful world of bird beaks
BBC Earth
From the impossibly large and showy to sharp and deadly, each of these bird beaks is superbly designed for purpose.
A bird’s beak, or bill, is not just for gathering food. They can be used for grooming, fighting, courtship display, feeding young, nest-building, manipulating objects and even regulating temperature. All in all, beaks are quite the multifunctional tool.
Here are some of the world's more bizarre beaks and their specialisations.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150223 ... bird-beaks
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Post by Summi »

Anne, I do feel deep respect and gratitude for your great work. :wave:
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Post by Anne7 »

Summi wrote: August 14th, 2019, 11:08 pm Anne, I do feel deep respect and gratitude for your great work. :wave:
Thank you for your kind words, Summi.
I hope to be able to finish this work before 2050. :mrgreen: :wave:


Bird anatomy

4. Respiratory and circulatory system

Respiration and Circulation
In Ornithology, the Science of Birds
RESPIRATION:
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The anatomy of the avian respiratory system is quite complex compared to that of mammals. The avian and mammalian respiratory systems consist of the lungs which expand, gas exchange occurs and the air is exhaled. In birds the respiratory system also serves for the exchange of gases but is also important in eliminating heat from the body and has several non-respiratory functions such as the detoxification of metabolic products and vocalization. As in mammals, the upper respiratory system serves to filter air to trap dust. Unlike mammalian lungs, avian lungs are relatively rigid and do not move much during breathing. Emanating from the lungs are thin-walled air sacs that fill most of the body cavity not occupied by other viscera; most birds have nine. Some air sacs penetrate the interior of the bones and even under the skin. In mammals, inspired air goes into the lung as the lung expands and is expired when the lung contracts. In birds the lungs expand very little because the air goes through them into the air sacs and back through the lungs on expiration. Thus not only can a greater volume of air pass through the lungs, but since it passes through twice, gas exchange is more efficient. In addition, birds’ lungs have more capillaries/area than mammals. Air sacs also provide buoyancy for aquatic birds; swimming species have particularly large abdominal and post-thoracic air sacs whose volume can be controlled for swimming or diving. They also provide a cushion for the viscera when landing nor diving in to the water for foomaybe may be modified for courtship displays e.g. the neck bladders of the Frigate Bird and Prairie Chicken. Air sacs also serve to cool the body during vigorous exercise through the internal evaporation of water. Breathing rate obviously increases with activity. E.g. a House Sparrow has a resting respiratory rate of 50/min which increases to over 200 after flying around a room. There isn’t a lot of information on respiratory rate and oxygen consumption during flight simply because it’s difficult to get. The classic experiments are those of Tucker (1968 J. Exp. Biol.) in which he trained parakeets and gulls to fly in a wind tunnel . Tucker’s budgerigar study showed that respiration seems to be most efficient at a certain flight speed; in this case about 35 kph. This may be due to a coordination of wing beats with respiration. There’s evidence from ducks, crows, and pigeons that they maintain a consistent cycle of from 3-5 wing beats per breath. This indicates that the flight muscles somehow enhance the movement of air through the respiratory system.

CIRCULATION:
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The circulatory system, the heart, blood vessels, lymphatic system, etc., has the same purpose and function as it does in other vertebrates: transport of foods, gases, hormones, and waste products. Only in birds and mammals is the heart four-chambered. The heart of birds is relatively larger and more powerful than that of reptiles and mammals of similar size; perhaps 50-100% larger. The heart of small birds is also proportionately larger than that of larger birds and is related to their respiratory rate. The measurement of heart rates varies because birds are so excitable when restrained. Heart Rates: blue jay 165, turkey 270, robin 550, canary 400-800, blue-winged teal 1000, hummingbird 1200. Blood pressure is also higher in birds than in other vertebrates: pigeon 135/105 mmHg, chicken 180/160, starling 180/130, canary 220/154, turkey 235/141. The circulatory system structure of birds is basically like that of vertebrates although there are some modifications. For example, the two jugular veins of the head are cross-connected so that a severe twist of the head doesn’t cut off blood drainage. Typically, birds’ veins and arteries are set up so that the veins and arteries lie next to each other. Thus the warm blood leaving the heart and going to the extremities warms the cooler blood going to the heart from the extremities; thus some heat is returned to the body core and conserved. This is countercurrent heat exchange and is typical of cold environment birds.

FLIGHT:
Many of the physiologic adaptations of the respiratory and circulatory systems are related to the energetic needs for flight. Although flying is an efficient way to move, it is also energy-intensive. The heart rate of small birds doubles from the resting rate when flying and goes to 3x or 4x in larger birds. For long-distance migrants, where energy considerations are especially important, birds typically lose 25 % of their body weight and even up to 50 %, which seems to be a physiological maximum. Hummingbirds fly over the Gulf of Mexico (800 km) and Golden Plovers fly 3900 km from the Aleutian to the Hawaiian Islands non-stop. Generally, the larger the bird, the farther they can fly, either non-stop or on a long migration. Many non-stop flights observed (Homing pigeon 1080 km or 600 miles; Alpine swift 540 km or 300 miles) were probably done with a tailwind).
https://ornithology.com/ornithology-lec ... rculation/


The respiratory system of birds facilitates efficient exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen via continuous unidirectional airflow and air sacs
In ASKNATURE
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Inhalation and exhalation cycles in the avian respiratory system
© L. Shyamal, Public Domain - No restrictions

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Inhalation and exhalation cycles shown in one half of the avian respiratory system
© L. Shyamal, Public Domain - No restrictions

The avian respiratory system is physically distinct from the mammalian respiratory system, both in structure and in its ability to exchange gas as efficiently as possible.
The bird’s respiratory system consists of paired lungs, which contain static structures with surfaces for gas exchange, and connected air sacs, which expand and contract causing air to move through the static lungs. A breath of oxygen-rich inhaled air remains in the respiratory system for two complete inhalation and exhalation cycles before it is fully spent (used) and exhaled out the body.
When fresh air is first inhaled through a bird’s nares (nostrils), it travels through the trachea (a large tube extending from the throat), which splits into left and right primary bronchi (a.k.a. mesobronchi, with each bronchus leading to a lung). The inhaled air travels down each primary bronchus and then divides: some air enters the lungs where gas exchange occurs, while the remaining air fills the posterior (rear) air sacs. Then, during the first exhalation, the fresh air in the posterior sacs enters the lungs and undergoes gas exchange. The spent air in the lungs is displaced by this incoming air and flows out the body through the trachea. During the second inhalation, fresh air again enters both the posterior sacs and the lungs. Spent air in the lungs is again displaced by incoming air, but it cannot exit through the trachea because fresh air is flowing inward. Instead, the spent air from the lungs enters anterior (forward) air sacs. Then, during the second exhalation, the spent air in the anterior sacs and in the lungs flows out through the trachea, and fresh air in the posterior sacs enters the lungs for gas exchange.
This pattern of airflow through the respiratory system creates unidirectional (one-way) flow of fresh air over the gas exchange surfaces in the lungs. Furthermore, fresh air passes over the gas exchange surfaces during both inhalation and exhalation, resulting in a constant supply of fresh air enabling the bird to experience a near-continuous state of gas exchange within the lungs. This contrasts with mammalian lungs, which experience bidirectional airflow over the gas exchange surfaces.
The efficiency of the avian respiratory system is owed in part to its unidirectional nature and the structure of its parabronchial system (the smaller passages within the lungs). The air capillaries in the walls of the parabronchial system have a much larger overall surface area than that found in the mammalian respiratory system. The greater the surface area, the more oxygen and carbon dioxide can be passed between blood and tissues, which makes for more efficient breathing.
https://asknature.org/strategy/air-flow ... -exchange/

Breathing in Birds
written by Mr Gordon Ramel
Like us, birds need to breathe air in and out of their lungs in order to fulfil the cycle of bringing oxygen into the body to be used in metabolism and also to take the waste CO2 away from the body. However, unlike us, when a bird breathes the air does not go simply in and out of the lungs in a simple u-shaped path. Instead, birds have a number of large extensions called 'air sacs' and hollow (pneumatized) bones all interconnected to their lungs. These allow the air to flow around in a grand circle meaning birds can have fresh oxygen-rich air in their lungs all the time Also unlike us mammals, a bird's breathing is not driven into and out of the lungs by means of a diaphragm. In birds, breathing is controlled by muscular contractions of the ribcage which reduce or increase the overall size of the body cavity and thus force air out of the various air sacs.
Air is breathed in through two nostrils situated at the base of the bill (except in Kiwis where they are at the tip of the bill and gannets where nostrils have become redundant and breathing is through the mouth). This air enters the 'trachea' then passes down the throat until it reaches the syrinx (a bird's vocal chords). Here the trachea divides into two 'bronchi' before passing through the lungs. This freshly inhaled air goes first, not to the lungs, but to the abdominal air sacs. These are the largest and most important of a bird's air sacs. Some of this inhaled air goes to the posterior air sacs also.
When the bird breathes out this air moves from these air sacs into the lungs. When the bird breathes in again, this air moves from the lungs to the interclavicular, thoracic and anterior air sacs. When the bird breathes out a second time the air passes up the bronchus and out of the bird's system. Thus it takes two breaths and not one for air to pass in and out of a bird's respiratory system. Also important to note is the fact that air passes right through the lungs, this allows for an almost continuous flow of air over the 'alveoli' and for a greater exchange rate in gases. This exchange rate is also enhanced by the fact that bird alveoli are 10 to 100 times smaller than ours giving a far greater surface area per volume for gaseous exchange to take place.
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© https://www.earthlife.net/birds/breath.html

A Bird's Heart and Blood
written by Mr Gordon Ramel
Flight muscles need a lot of oxygen on a regular basis and to get it the blood must be kept moving rapidly around the system. To achieve this birds have, like mammals, evolved a four-chambered heart (reptiles have only a three-chambered heart). Two of these chambers are basically receiving vessels called atria, into them the blood flows at the end of its journey around the body, or to and from the lungs. The other two chambers, called ventricles, are the pumping powerhouses that send the blood off on its endless journey again. Thus the blood travels in a figure 8 as in mammals.
The oxygenated blood (red) is pumped out to the various parts of the body by the left ventricle, where after giving up its life fuelling oxygen and collecting the carbon dioxide, it returns, as deoxygenated blood (blue) to the right atrium through three large veins called the caval veins - (left caval, right caval and post caval). From here it is shunted to the right ventricle which pumps it out to the bird's lungs via the pulmonary arch where the carbon dioxide is dumped to be exhaled (breathed out) and a new load of oxygen picked up. This newly reoxygenated (red) blood returns to the left atrium of the heart via four large pulmonary veins. (We mammals only have two pulmonary veins). From here it is shunted to the left ventricle so that the cycle can start all over again. The possession of four pulmonary veins, along with the fact that a bird's heart is generally larger and more muscular per pound (or kilogram) or bodyweight than ours, explains why a bird's circulatory system is more efficient than ours. The left ventricle in a bird's heart is by far the largest chamber and has to work exceptionally hard in small birds which have hovering flight such as hummingbirds.
Some resting birds' heartbeat rates are (in beats per minute):-
Domestic Chicken: 245
Crow: 345
House Sparrow: 460
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 615
It is a general rule in nature that smaller animals have larger hearts in proportion to their body size and faster heart rates. The relative size of a bird's heart is also affected by its lifestyle - Tinamous are flightless birds and therefore do not need such athletic hearts. Also, birds with primarily gliding flight will need less capable hearts than those that practice active flight - particularly hovering. Like us, a bird's heart rate rapidly increases when it is involved in exercise and the heart rates of small birds can easily rise above 1000 beats per minute during flight.
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© https://www.earthlife.net/birds/blood.html


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Ari19
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Post by Ari19 »

Wow, Anne7! That is such an amount!

One issue though... I’m afraid I won’t be able to tell if the article I want to post is already here. How will we prevent doubles? :puzzled:
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