I realized that in all of the classic references to storks as a necessary part of the baby-delivery-pipeline, I have never thought to so much as try to find a picture of them. It turns out that they are pretty awesome.
Some of the species are also quite beautiful:
Fourteen species of stork reside in Asia and Africa, and three in Central and South America.
Interesting facts:
- They are completely mute. They “clatter” (clack) their beaks to communicate.
- A group of storks is referred to either a “muster” or a “phalanx” (yeah.. that phalanx).
- The marabou stork, one of the Central/South American species, has the longest wingspan of any bird, together shared with an Andean condor: just under eleven feet. It’s also about eighteen pounds at its largest (the bald eagle tops out around fourteen).
- Their nests are freaking enormous: They grow to six-feet in radius and ten feet deep.
- Not unlike some people, they may abandon their mates and find alternative ones while they’re migrating.
What a cool bird. Speaking of neat family names (“muster”, “phalanx”), do you know what you call a group of jellyfish? A bloom, baby.
Why? Because of their homage to the nuclear bomb:
That was the white-spotted jellyfish.
What? How? Wonder. 