Stork With Nesting Material

The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in subtropical and tropical habitats in the Americas, including the Caribbean. In South America, it is resident, but in North America, it may disperse as far as Florida. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, this stork likely evolved in tropical regions. The head and neck are bare of feathers, and dark grey in colour. The plumage is mostly white, with the exception of the tail and some of the wing feathers, which are black with a greenish-purplish sheen.

The adult wood stork is a large bird which stands 33–45 in tall with a wingspan of 55–71 in. The male typically weighs 5.5–7.3 lb, the female weighs 4.4–6.2 lb.

A resident breeder in lowland wetlands with trees, the wood stork builds a large stick nest in a tree. It nests colonially, with up to 25 nests in one tree. The nest itself is built by the male from sticks and green twigs collected from the colony and the surrounding area. The greenery usually starts to be added before the eggs are laid but after the main structure of twigs is completed. When complete, the nest is about 3.3 ft in diameter, with a central green area having an average diameter of about 11 in.

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