Ciconia boyciana

The Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a large, white bird with black wing feathers in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is closely related to and resembles the European white stork (C. ciconia), 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. There have been efforts to reintroduce the storks to the wild, but first changes in the environment must be accomplished. The storks were harshly impacted by the growth of the rice industry and the subsequent use of pesticides. There is a push for rice farmers to grow their plants organically so that the storks may breed and grow safely in their environments. After breeding, the storks migrate to eastern China in September and return in March.