Many stories, cartoons, fables and fairy tales created worldwide speak about storks which deliver babies to their parents. Have you ever wondered how come and why storks exactly and not some other animals?
Storks are believed to be gentle and peaceful, friendly and gracious animals, which are not afraid of people. In many parts of the world and various cultures, from the ancient Greeks to modern times, they are considered to bring luck to those on whose chimney they make their nest, to be wonderful parents that share offspring duties, and they care about other members of their species.
According to a legend which spread around Europe, people would leave candies on the windows of their houses to attract storks, where new arrivals were eagerly awaited. Then these birds would take babies into baskets or bandanas, and the bundles would be delivered to expecting mothers. Sometimes, they would bring the babies in through chimneys. This folktale spread across the world so thoroughly that a birthmark which most newborns have on the nape of the neck, eyelid or between eyebrows, is called a stork bite.
Storks are relatively large birds. Their wing span is between 1, 5 to 2 metres. They are carnivores hunting fish, frogs and other amphibians, insects, smaller mammals, and even other birds and their eggs. They live in most of Europe, predominantly in Poland, but they can be found in the west of Asia. With the arrival of cold weather, European storks migrate to Africa, while Asian storks migrate further south, to India, where they spend autumn and winter, from September to March. The journey to southern destinations lasts 26 days, while the return in spring is much longer – lasting 49 days. The oldest known stork lived for 39 years.
M.Đ.