Wood Stork

The Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) is a large American wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was formerly called the "Wood Ibis", though it is not really an ibis. The adult is a large bird 83–115 cm (33–45 in) tall and 140–180 cm (58–71 in) in wingspan. Males typically weigh 2.5–3.3 kg (5.5-7.3 lbs); females weigh 2.0–2.8 kg (4.4-6.2 lbs), although large birds are up to 4.5 kg (10 lbs). It appears all white on the ground, with blackish-gray legs and pink feet. In flight, the trailing edge of the wings is black. The head is dark brown with a bald, black face, and the thick downcurved bill is dusky yellow. Juvenile birds are a duller version of the adult, generally browner on the neck, and with a paler bill. This is a subtropical and tropical species which breeds in much of South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Wood Stork is the only stork that presently breeds in North America. In the United States there is a small and endangered breeding population in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, along with a recently discovered rookery in southeastern North Carolina. In the United States. the Wood Stork favors cypress trees in marshes, swamps, or (less often) among mangroves and nearby habitat. (credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Stork)