Everybody knows a big white bird with black feathers, a long red bill and long legs. When it flies, its neck is straight which distinguishes it from herons. The white stork is a migrant bird - in the autumn it migrates to Africa. The majority of stork couples nest in the Pannonian region. Couples normally always return to the same nest they occupied the year before. A nest is repaired or rebuilt every year, and thus it can weigh even more than 500 kg. The bird's favourite diet is composed of smaller mammals and grasshoppers. The nesting site also depends on the quantity of available food, which is most easy to be found on meadows. If storks are subject to a lack of food, they are capable of throwing their own youngsters out of a nest.
The number of storks in Slovenia has grown in the past 20 years. The same phenomenon can be observed throughout Europe. In spite of the population recovery, the white stork still remains a vulnerable species primarily because its living and hunting grounds - meadows - are being destroyed, dried out and regulated.
