The Oriental Stork Is A Large, White Bird With Black Wing Feathers In The Stork Family. Stock Photo

The Oriental stork is a large, white bird with black wing feathers in the stork family. It is closely related to and resembles the European white stork, of which it was formerly often treated as a subspecies. It is typically larger than the white stork, at 100–129 cm 39.5–51 in long, 110–150 cm 43–59 in tall, a weight of 2.8–5.9 kg 6.2–13.0 lb and a wingspan of 2.22 m 7.3 ft. Unlike its more widespread cousin, the Oriental stork has red skin around its eye, with a whitish iris and black bill. Both sexes are similar. The female is slightly smaller than male. The young are white with orange bills. At one time, the Oriental stork could be found in Japan, China, Korea and Russia. It is now extinct in Japan and the Korean peninsula. However, in May 2007 a hatchling was reported in Japan for the first time in 40 years in the wild. It was offspring of two storks who were bred in captivity. After breeding, the storks migrate to eastern China in September and return in March.