Oriental stork
ciconia boyciana latin

The Oriental Stork is a solitary bird except during the breeding season.

Kounotori is the Japanese name for the Oriental Stork.

The Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a large, white bird with black wing feathers.

Unlike its more widespread cousin, the Oriental Stork has red skin around its eye, with a whitish iris and black bill.

At a distance, they can appear somewhat like a White Stork or Oriental Stork.

At one time, the Oriental Stork could be found in Japan, China, Korea and Russia.

ARKive - images and movies of the Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)

Oriental Stork, Ciconia boyciana (formerly in C. ciconia)

Due to habitat loss and overhunting, the Oriental Stork is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of Oriental Storks and critically endangered Baer's Pochards.

Two species, White and Black Stork, reach Europe and western temperate Asia, while one species, Oriental Stork, reaches temperate areas of eastern Asia, and one species, Black-necked Stork, is found in Australasia.

The Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a large, white bird with black wing feathers.

ARKive - images and movies of the Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)

Oriental Stork, Ciconia boyciana (formerly in C. ciconia)

Also, grus vipio, platalea minor, ciconia boyciana, falco tinnunculus interstinctus, microsarcops cinereus, haematopus ostralegus osculans and such visits here regularly.

Its closest relatives are the larger, black-billed Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) of East Asia, which was formerly classified as a subspecies of the White Stork, and the Maguari Stork (C. maguari) of South America.