# Black stork (*Ciconia nigra*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-stork  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a bird in the family Ciconiidae and the order Ciconiiformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 2.9 kg, up to 3.17 kg, and a wingspan of 1.5 m. The black stork is a migratory, terrestrial aquatic predator and carnivore of woodland habitats, with a geographic range of 18,360,000 km². It lays one clutch of 3.5 eggs per year, incubation lasts 35.5 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 3 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.93 kg – 3.17 kg |
| Length | 95 cm – 1 m |
| Wingspan | 1.5 m |
| Lifespan | 31 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 31.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | woodland |
| Egg incubation | 35.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.5 |
| Age at maturity | 2.98 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Ciconiiformes
- family: Ciconiidae
- genus: Ciconia
- species: *Ciconia nigra* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Ardea ignea*, *Ardea nigra*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the black stork?

The black stork is a bird in the family Ciconiidae, order Ciconiiformes.

### How heavy is the black stork?

The black stork has an adult body mass of 2.9 kg, with values up to 3.17 kg reported. Its wingspan is 1.5 m.

### What does the black stork eat?

The black stork is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### Is the black stork endangered?

No. The black stork is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the black stork live?

The black stork has a lifespan of 31 years, with values up to 31.3 years reported.

### How many eggs does the black stork lay?

The black stork lays 3.5 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 35.5 days.

### Does the black stork migrate?

Yes. The black stork is migratory.

### Who named the black stork?

The black stork was named Ciconia nigra by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Black stork (Ciconia nigra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-stork