The Life of the Stork: From Symbolism in the Torah to Survival in Nature

In the Torah, the stork is listed among the impure birds, although its very name in Hebrew suggests purity and kindness. The Sages explain that it was called chasidah (stork) because it shows kindness (chesed) to its companions by sharing food (Chullin 63a). The Imrei Emes elaborates: “Because it shows kindness only to its own kind, and not to others, it is considered impure.”

Migration and Appearance

The stork relocates twice a year. During the summer months, it lives across various European countries, and with the arrival of autumn, it migrates south to warmer lands.

It is a large bird with long red legs, standing about a meter tall. Its beak is strikingly long, straight, sharp, and bright red, measuring 15–20 cm. Its wingspan reaches up to 200 cm, and it weighs between 2.5–3.5 kg. Its feathers are completely white except for the black wing coverts and flight feathers.

Nesting Habits

In early spring, upon returning from “winter vacation,” storks build their nests in sunny places — most often at the tops of tall trees, as it says in Tehillim (104:17): “The stork has her home in the cypresses.” Over time, many have adapted to nesting on rooftops, preferring chimneys, towers, utility poles, or windmills standing in open fields. They avoid big cities, not out of preference for nature, but because their food which includes frogs, lizards, and other small creatures, is found in lakes, rivers, and marshes far from urban areas.

Their diet includes insects such as locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets, as well as vertebrates: fish (especially weak or dead ones), frogs, snakes (including vipers), chicks, and rodents. The stork spears its prey with its beak. Smaller animals are tossed into the air and swallowed whole, while larger ones are first torn apart with the beak before being eaten.

The stork’s nest is enormous, often more than a meter wide, and the pair usually returns to the same nest each year, enlarging and repairing it. Over time, a nest can reach 2–2.5 meters high. Made of branches and twigs, it is lined with leaves, grass, and straw. Stork pairs are highly committed: one always remains in the nest to guard the young while the other goes out. The pair remains bonded for life, typically around 12 years in the wild, though storks in captivity can live up to 30 years.

Family Life and Parenting

Storks are devoted parents, investing enormous effort in raising their helpless chicks. All summer long, both father and mother take turns guarding the nest and tirelessly providing food.

Researchers have observed a fascinating ritual that when one stork returns from foraging, the pair engages in an elaborate “welcome ceremony.” They bow toward each other, stretch their heads high, and rub their beaks together, producing loud clattering sounds. This greeting ritual lasts 2–3 minutes and is repeated every time one returns. Interestingly, storks themselves are deaf. Once the greeting is over, the stork that stayed behind leaves for its turn to forage.

When it’s time to feed the young, the returning stork regurgitates its partly digested meal, right into the nest for the chicks. After feeding, it busies itself with housekeeping: cleaning the nest, repairing it, and smoothing the leaves. In short, the stork is a model homemaker.

Population Decline

Today, stork populations in most of Europe are steadily declining, especially in central and western regions, although the causes are not entirely clear. Many storks are harmed by power lines, vehicles, and aircraft. More critically, draining of wetlands and pollution of water sources pose major threats. Pesticides used in agriculture against rodents also “contribute” to their decline.