Black stork for the elite sabotage and fighter squad. White stork. Enemies, unfavorable factors

How 23 special forces soldiers of the USSR GRU “offended” the elite special forces of the Afghan Mujahideen “Black Stork”. 30 years ago, the brainchild of famous terrorists Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Osama bin Laden - the elite special forces of the Afghan Mujahideen "Black Stork" - suffered a crushing defeat for the first time. The role of offenders of the feathered spirits was played by 23 special forces soldiers of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the USSR. Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC KTK Sergei Kleshchenkov recalls: - Although I, as a serviceman, was seconded during the conflict in Afghanistan, I personally did not have to deal with “storks.” However, everyone had heard about them - both the rank and file and the command. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar organized the “Black Stork” unit from the most selected thugs who underwent intensive training under the guidance of American and Pakistani instructors. Each “stork” simultaneously performed the duties of a radio operator, sniper, miner, etc. In addition, the fighters of this special unit, created to carry out sabotage operations, owned almost all types of small arms and were distinguished by bestial cruelty: they tortured Soviet prisoners of war no worse than the Gestapo. Although the Black Storks proudly claimed that they had never been defeated by Soviet troops, this was only partly true. And it concerned only the first years of the war. The fact is that our combat units were trained not for guerrilla warfare, but for conducting large-scale combat operations. Therefore, at first they suffered significant losses. I had to learn by doing. And both soldiers and officers. But it was not without tragic incidents. For example, a major who bore the strange nickname Zero Eight took combat helicopters into the sky and completely destroyed a column of our allies, Babrak Karmal’s fighters, on the march. I later learned that “zero-eight” is the density of oak. At the same time, the special forces soldiers were much better trained and, compared to such “oak” majors, looked simply brilliant. By the way, before the Afghan war, only officers served in this unit. The decision to recruit conscript soldiers and sergeants into the ranks of special forces was made by the Soviet command already during the conflict. Assignment - free search In that terrible battle, the only Kazakh sergeant of the separate 459th company of the “Cascade” detachment of the USSR GRU, Almaty resident Andrei Dmitrienko, took part. A group of Soviet special forces were ambushed, skillfully placed by “storks”, while performing the most ordinary task. Andrey Dmitrienko recalls: “We received information that some gang had destroyed a caravan of fuel tankers 40 kilometers from Kabul. According to army intelligence, this convoy was carrying a secret cargo - new Chinese rocket mortars and, possibly, chemical weapons. And gasoline was a simple cover. Our group needed to find surviving soldiers and cargo and deliver them to Kabul. The size of a regular full-time special forces group is ten people. Moreover, the smaller the group, the easier it is to work. But this time it was decided to unite two groups under the command of Senior Lieutenant Boris Kovalev and strengthen them with experienced fighters. Therefore, trainee senior lieutenant Jan Kuskis, as well as two warrant officers Sergei Chaika and Viktor Stroganov, went on a free search. We set out in the afternoon, lightly, in the very heat. They didn’t take any helmets or body armor. It was believed that the special forces soldier was ashamed to put on all this ammunition. It’s stupid, of course, but this unwritten rule was always strictly followed. We didn’t even take enough food with us, since we planned to return before dark. Each of the fighters carried an AKS-74 assault rifle of 5.45 mm caliber, and the officers preferred AKM of 7.62 mm caliber. In addition, the group was armed with 4 PKMs - modernized Kalashnikov machine guns. This very powerful weapon fired the same cartridges as the Dragunov sniper rifle - 7.62 mm by 54 mm. Although the caliber is the same as the AKM, the cartridge case is longer, and therefore the powder charge is more powerful. In addition to machine guns and machine guns, each of us took with us about a dozen defensive grenades “efok” - F-1, with fragments scattering 200 meters. We despised the offensive RGD-5s for their low power and used them to kill fish. The combined group walked along the hills parallel to the Kabul-Ghazni highway, which very much resembles the Chilik-Chundzha highway in the Almaty region. The gentle and long climbs exhausted us much more than the steepest rocks. It seemed like there would never be an end to them. It was very difficult to walk. The rays of the high-mountain sun burned our backs, and the earth, hot as a frying pan, breathed into our faces an unbearable scorching heat. Trap on Kazazhora Around 19:00 in the evening, the commander of the joint group, Kovalev, decided to “sit down” for the night. The fighters occupied the top of the Kazazhora hill and began to build loopholes from basalt stone - round cells half a meter high. Andrey Dmitrienko recalls: “In each such fortification there were 5-6 people. I was in the same cell with Alexey Afanasyev, Tolkyn Bektanov and two Andreys - Moiseev and Shkolenov. Group commander Kovalev, senior lieutenant Kushkis and radiotelegraph operator Kalyagin positioned themselves two hundred and fifty meters from the main group. When it got dark, we decided to have a cigarette, and then from the neighboring high-rises we were suddenly hit by five DShKs - Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine guns. This machine gun, eloquently nicknamed the “king of the mountains” in Afghanistan, was sold by the USSR to China in the seventies. During the Afghan conflict, the functionaries of the Celestial Empire were not at a loss and resold these powerful weapons to dushmans. Now we had to experience the terrible power of five large-caliber “kings” on our own skin. Heavy 12.7 mm bullets crushed brittle basalt into dust. Looking out into the loophole, I saw a crowd of dushmans rolling towards our position from below. There were about two hundred of them. Everyone fired Kalashnikovs and shouted. In addition to the dagger fire of the DShK, the attackers were covered by the machine guns of their co-religionists hiding in shelters. We immediately noticed that the spirits did not behave at all as they always did, but rather too professionally. While some made a rapid dash forward, others hit us with machine guns so hard that they did not allow us to raise our heads. In the darkness, we could only make out the silhouettes of the rapidly advancing Mujahideen, who looked very much like disembodied ghosts. And this sight became creepy. But even the vague outlines of running enemies were lost every now and then. Having made the next throw, the dushmans instantly fell to the ground and pulled the dark hoods of black American Alaskans or dark green camouflage jackets over their heads. Because of this, they completely merged with the rocky soil and hid for some time. After which the attackers and coverers changed roles. At the same time, the fire did not subside for a second. This was very strange, considering that most mujahideen were usually armed with Chinese and Egyptian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles. The fact is that Egyptian and Chinese fakes of AKM and AK-47 could not withstand prolonged shooting, as they were made of low-quality steel. Their barrels, heating up, expanded, and the bullets flew very weakly. Having fired two or three horns, such machines simply began to “spit.” Having let the “spirits” get within a hundred meters, we struck back. After our bursts mowed down several dozen attackers, the dushmans crawled back. However, it was too early to rejoice: there were still too many enemies, and we clearly did not have enough ammunition. I would like to especially note the completely idiotic order of the USSR Ministry of Defense, according to which a fighter was given no more than 650 rounds of ammunition for one combat appearance. Looking ahead, I will say that after returning, we severely beat the foreman who gave us ammunition. So that he no longer carries out such stupid orders. And it helped! Betrayal of the command Realizing that our group did not have enough strength or ammunition, radiotelegraph operator Afanasyev began calling Kabul. I lay next to him and heard with my own ears the response of the operational duty officer at the garrison. This officer, when asked to send reinforcements, replied indifferently: “Get out yourself.” Only now I understood why special forces soldiers were called disposable. Here the heroism of Afanasyev was fully demonstrated, he turned off the walkie-talkie and shouted loudly: “Guys, hold on, help is on the way!” This news inspired everyone except me, since I alone knew the terrible truth. We had very little ammunition left, the group was forced to switch the fire switches to single shots. All our fighters shot perfectly, so many of the Mujahideen were hit by single fire. Realizing that they couldn’t take us head-on, the “spirits” resorted to a trick. They started shouting that we had mistakenly attacked our allies, the Tsarandoi fighters - the Afghan militia. Knowing that the dushmans fight very poorly in daylight, warrant officer Sergei Chaika began to play for time in the hope of surviving until the morning and waiting for reinforcements. To this end, he proposed negotiations to the enemy. The Dushmans agreed. Chaika himself went as envoys with Matvienko, Baryshkin and Rakhimov. Having brought them within 50 meters, the “spirits” suddenly opened fire. Alexander Matvienko was killed by the first burst, and Misha Baryshkin was seriously injured. I still remember how he, lying on the ground, twitches convulsively and shouts: “Guys, help! We're bleeding!" All the fighters, as if on command, opened barrage fire. Thanks to this, Chaika and Rakhimov somehow miraculously managed to return. Unfortunately, we were unable to save Baryshkin. He lay about one hundred and fifty meters from our positions, in the open. Soon he became quiet. An unexpected breakthrough It is interesting that the “spirits” almost did not shoot at the cell of group commander Kovalev, where he was located together with senior lieutenant Kushkis and radiotelegraph operator Kalyagin. The enemy concentrated all his forces on us. Maybe the Mujahideen decided that the three fighters weren’t going anywhere anyway? Such neglect played a cruel joke on our enemies. At that moment, when our fire was catastrophically weakened due to lack of ammunition and we could no longer hold back the onslaught of the advancing “spirits,” Kovalev, Kushkis and Kalyagin unexpectedly struck them in the rear. Hearing the explosions of grenades and the crackle of machine gun fire, at first we even decided that reinforcements had approached us. But then the group commander rolled into our cell along with a trainee and a radio operator. During the breakthrough, they destroyed about one and a half dozen “spirits”. In response, the angry Mujahideen, not limited to the murderous fire of five DShKs, began to hit the cells with hand grenade launchers. From direct hits, the layered stone shattered into pieces. Many soldiers were wounded by grenade and stone fragments. Since we did not take any dressing bags with us, we had to bandage the wounds with torn vests. Unfortunately, we did not have night sights at that time, and only Sergei Chaika had infrared binoculars. Having spotted the grenade launcher, he shouted to me: “Bastard for seven o’clock! Kill him!” And I sent a short line there. I don’t know exactly how many people I killed then. But probably about 30. This fight was not my first, and I already had to kill people. But in war, killing is not considered murder - it is simply a way to survive. Here you need to react quickly to everything and shoot very accurately. When I left for Afghanistan, my grandfather, a machine gunner, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, told me: “Never look at the enemy, but immediately shoot at him. You’ll look at it later.” Before dispatch, political workers told us that the Mujahideen cut off the ears, noses and other organs of our killed soldiers, and gouged out their eyes. After my arrival in Kabul, I discovered that ours also cut off the ears of the killed “spirits”. A bad example is contagious, and soon I did the same. But my passion for collecting was interrupted by a special officer who caught me on the 57th ear. All dried exhibits, of course, had to be thrown away. I didn’t end up in the circus - I ended up in the special forces. I confess that during that entire battle I regretted ten times that I had not remained a sergeant in Pechory. Pechery-Pskovskie is a city near St. Petersburg, where the USSR GRU special forces training base is located. Squad commanders, radiotelegraph operators, intelligence officers and miners were trained there. I skillfully simulated a complete lack of hearing and, having successfully turned away from the radio, broke through to the scouts. They prepared us very thoroughly. We constantly ran 10-kilometer cross-country races, endlessly did push-ups on parallel bars and pull-ups on the horizontal bar, shot from all types of small arms and practiced knife actions on stuffed corrugated cardboard. This cardboard best imitates the human body. In addition, we studied subversion and trained willpower in underground labyrinths, where we were attacked by virtual tanks. I studied so well that they even wanted to keep me there as an instructor-sergeant. To prevent this from happening, I committed several disciplinary violations and completely disappointed the course director. He waved his hand at me and said that all the slobs who are not accepted into the circus or prison end up in the special forces. Besides the fact that I was eager to go to Afghanistan, I had absolutely no relationship with a certain Sergeant Peretyatkevich. He, being a candidate for master of sports in freestyle wrestling, lost a wrestling match to me. After that, he began to find fault with me and “snitch” on me to the commanders. Therefore, when on April 27, 1984, we, two intelligence officers and five radio telegraph operators, found ourselves in Kabul, I was simply happy. Denouement The night battle reached its climax at 4 o’clock in the morning, when the “spirits” decisively launched another attack. They did not spare cartridges and shouted loudly: “Shuravi, taslim!” - an analogue of the fascist “Rus, surrender!” I was shaking from the cold and nervous tension, but most of all I was depressed by complete uncertainty. And I was very afraid. He was afraid of imminent death and possible torture, afraid of the unknown. Anyone who says that war is not scary either hasn’t been there or is lying. We've used up almost all our ammunition. Nobody saved the last cartridge for themselves. Its role among the special forces is played by the last grenade. This is much more reliable and you can drag a few more enemies with you. I still had seven rounds of ammunition, a couple of grenades and a knife left when we began to negotiate among ourselves about who would finish off the wounded. They decided that those whom the lot would point to would be stabbed to death with knives. The remaining cartridges are only for the enemy. It sounds terrible, but it was impossible to leave our comrades alive. The Mujahideen would brutally torture them before they died. While casting lots, we heard the noise of helicopter rotors. To celebrate, I threw the last grenades at the dushmans. And then, like a chill, a terrible thought hit me: what if the helicopters pass by? But they didn’t pass by. It turned out that helicopter pilots from the “stray” Alexandria regiment, based near Kandahar, came to our rescue. Penalty officers who had numerous problems in their service served in this regiment. When our company stood next to these helicopter pilots, we drank vodka with them more than once. But although discipline limped on both legs, they were not afraid of anything. Several transport Mi-8s and combat Mi-24s, better known as “crocodiles,” hit the spooks with machine guns and drove them away from our positions. Having quickly loaded two killed and 17 wounded comrades into helicopters, we jumped in ourselves and left the enemy biting their elbows. Osama trampled his turban out of anger. Subsequently, the intelligence center of the limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan received information that in that battle our group destroyed 372 trained militants. It also turned out that they were commanded by the young and then little-known Osama bin Laden. The agents testified that after this battle, the future famous terrorist was beside himself with rage, trampling on his own turban and using his last words to kill his assistants. This defeat left the “storks” with an indelible stain of shame. A week of mourning was declared in all Afghan villages controlled by the “spirits,” and the Mujahideen leaders vowed to destroy our entire 459th company.

“Black Storks” is a sabotage and fighter elite detachment of the Afghan Mujahideen, the leader of which, according to various sources, was Amir Khattab, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Osama bin Laden. According to other sources, Pakistani special forces. According to the third version, “Black Storks” are those people who committed a crime before Allah: they killed, stole, etc. They had to atone for their guilt before Allah only with the blood of infidels.
There was information that among the “storks” there were people of European appearance with punk hairstyles who traveled in Isuzu jeeps. Each “stork” simultaneously performed the duties of a radio operator, sniper, miner, etc. In addition, the fighters of this special unit, created to carry out sabotage operations, owned almost all types of small arms.
"Black Storks" - a special forces unit, was created during the Afghan War of 1979-1989. by a number of intelligence services of Pakistan and other interested countries from among the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign mercenaries. Members of the “Black Storks” were well-trained military specialists, professionally proficient in various types of weapons, communications equipment, and knowledge of topographic maps. They knew the terrain well and were unpretentious in everyday life.
They were based mainly in the hard-to-reach provinces of the Afghan highlands bordering Pakistan and Iran, at the bases and fortified areas of the Afghan Mujahideen. They took an active part in organizing ambushes on units of Soviet troops. A number of such clashes became a difficult page in the history of the Afghan war:
2. The death of the Maravar company in the province of Kunar of the 1st company of the 334th special forces detachment of the 15th ObrSpN GRU General Staff - April 21, 1985.
3. Battle of the 4th company of the 149th motorized rifle regiment near the village of Konyak in Kunar province - May 25, 1985.
5. Battle at height 3234 near the village of Alikheil in Paktia province in January 1988.
The “Black Storks” squad was equipped with a special black uniform, with stripes of this special. divisions. - With rare exceptions (in the person of instructors), all members of the “Black Storks” were adherents of fundamental Islam. Mostly natives of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Very often, during an intense battle, flaunting their own fearlessness, the “Black Storks” stood up to their full height in order to fire a shell from a grenade launcher, or fire a long burst. By this action, as well as by reading suras from the Holy Quran over a horn loudspeaker during the battle, the “storks” hoped to demoralize and break the morale of the Soviet soldiers. Special bases for the professional training of “Black Storks” were located mainly in Pakistan and Iran.
Throughout the entire period of stay of the limited contingent in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, not a single documented case of the destruction of the “Black Storks” was recorded...

At the end of 1987, Soviet troops were already preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan. Active hostilities have already ended. But no one could have imagined that another battle would be fought, which would go down in the history of the Afghan war as the most cruel and bloody. This was a battle of the 9th Airborne Company at altitude 3234.

In December 1987, part of the government troops of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was blocked in the city of Khost, Paktia province, on the border with Pakistan. Afghan soldiers lost control of Khost and the Khost-Gardez road. The city and the road fell into the hands of the Mujahideen. To provide assistance, the military leadership of the USSR decided to conduct the military operation "Magistral". The objective of Operation Magistral was to liberate the city of Khost. On December 30, 1987, the first Soviet supply columns appeared on the road to Khost. The peak of this confrontation was the battle in the area of height 3234, on January 7 and 8, 1988. Why was the Khost-Gardez road important? The fact is that in this mountainous area this road was the only link between the city and the “mainland”, so the road was heavily guarded. The checkpoints set up were constantly fired upon and attacked by the Mujahideen.

How events unfolded: the first attack

Height 3234 is located in the southwest, a few kilometers from the middle of the Khost-Gardez road. The 9th Airborne Company of the 345th Regiment was sent to hold the defense. The head of the company was Sergei Tkachev, the composition was 39 people. The company carried out extensive preparatory work; in a short period of time they dug trenches, dugouts, and communication passages. They also mined areas where the Mujahideen could approach. Early in the morning of January 7, the Mujahideen launched an attack on height 3234. They tried to knock down the checkpoint and open the way to the road. But the strong structures of the paratroopers did not allow them to immediately take the height. At 15:30, the Mujahideen made a second attempt to take the heights, using artillery fire, grenade launchers and mortars. Under the cover of fire, the Mujahideen were able to get another 200 meters from the company and launch an attack from two sides. And again the Mujahideen were driven back, although not for long: already at 16:30 they went into battle again, and used walkie-talkies for coordination. As a result, the Mujahideen lost about 15 people killed and about 30 people wounded - but were unable to capture the heights. By this time, there were losses on the Soviet side as well. Junior sergeant Vyacheslav Alexandrov and his Utes heavy machine gun were killed. The Mujahideen concentrated their grenade launchers on him to remove the machine gun and junior sergeant. Sergeant Aleksandrov ordered the soldiers to retreat deeper into the defense, while he himself remained to cover the defense area.

Second, third and subsequent attacks

The Mujahideen attacked again at approximately 18:00. The 9th company continued to hold the defense. The Mujahideen attacked the area defended by the platoon of senior lieutenant Sergei Rozhkov. The heavy machine gun was again destroyed and replaced by regimental artillery. Again the Mujahideen were unable to occupy the heights. Private Anatoly Kuznetsov died during the attack. The resistance of the 9th company infuriated the dushmans. At 19:10 they went on the attack again, using psychological methods - they went at full height with machine guns, despite the losses of personnel. But this trick did not cause fear and panic among the soldiers, and again the attempt to take the height was unsuccessful. The next attack began at 23:10, and was the most brutal. The command of the Mujahideen changed, and they carefully prepared for it. They cleared the minefield and approached the height, but this attempt was repulsed, and with even greater losses of the Mujahideen. The twelfth attack began on January 8, at 3 am. By this time, the Soviet fighters were tired, they were running out of ammunition, and they were preparing for a deadly end to the defense of height 3234. But at that time, a reconnaissance platoon led by Lieutenant Alexei Smirnov approached and pushed back the Mujahideen. The arriving platoon delivered ammunition in time, and the increased fire decided the outcome of the battle. The Dushmans were driven back. From that moment on, the battle at height 3234 was over.

Help 9th company

According to some reports, the Pakistani Armed Forces provided support to the Mujahideen. This is indicated by the fact that there were several helicopters 40 kilometers from altitude 3234. They delivered reinforcements and ammunition to Afghanistan, and took back the dead and wounded. The helipad was discovered by scouts and destroyed - this was another factor that influenced the outcome of the battle. The paratroopers were assisted by a D-3 howitzer artillery battery and three Akatsiya self-propelled vehicles. Boris Gromov, commander of the 40th Army, watched what was happening.

Results of the battle for height 3234

The battle for height 3234 was included in many textbooks as an example of competent tactical actions, preparatory work and courage of the personnel. 39 paratroopers fought against 200 Mujahideen for more than 12 hours, and never surrendered the heights to the enemy. Of the 39 people, 6 were killed, 28 were injured, 9 were seriously injured. All paratroopers received military awards - the Order of the Red Star and the Red Banner of Battle. Commander Alexandrov and private Melnikov were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The opponents of the Soviet soldiers were Mujahideen in black uniforms with a black, red and yellow patch on their arms - the Black Stork detachment. This uniform was worn by Pakistani fighter-saboteurs, whose detachment was created in 1979 to confront Soviet troops in Afghanistan. It is believed that such uniforms are worn by people who have committed serious crimes according to Sharia - murder, theft, and sin can only be atone for with blood.

White stork

Stork - order Anciformes (Stork-shaped), family Stork

White stork (Ciconia ciconia). Habitat - Asia, Africa, Europe Wingspan 1.5 m Weight 4 kg

The wingspan of the white stork slightly exceeds 1.5 m. Males are slightly larger than females, but it is almost impossible to distinguish them by external features. The plumage is white, only the flight feathers are black.

When the wings are folded, these feathers extend to the edge of the tail, giving the appearance that the back is black. Hence the Ukrainian name of the bird - blackguz.

The beak and legs are red. A characteristic pose is a tucked leg. He can stand in this position for a very long time. In flight, the white stork can be easily distinguished from herons - it stretches its neck. The species' range includes part of Europe and Asia. White storks fly to India and Africa for the winter. There is a sedentary population of these birds in Africa.

According to the beliefs of many peoples, storks bring happiness. If a pair of these birds makes a nest on the roof of a house or next door to it, the owners will prosper. And vice versa - if the storks left the nest forever - expect trouble. There are several species of birds, and among them there is a black stork, the color of which has very little white in its plumage. Storks settle near fields, meadows, and swamps, where they find food for themselves. Storks hunt frogs, lizards, small snakes, rodents, and will not miss the opportunity to destroy a bird's nest by feasting on the chicks. Storks are monogamous - a pair is created for life and can break up only if one of the partners dies. Birds are also constant in terms of nesting: they can settle in the same place for many years, only renovating and repairing their home. Storks can nest on the roof of a house, a tree, or a support for high-voltage lines. The eggs are white; on average there are from 2 to 5, the maximum number is 7.

Storks living in southern Europe are usually sedentary. Their more northern neighbors fly to India or tropical Africa in the fall. They gather there in flocks of thousands. You will not see such concentrations of storks in our northern latitudes. On the territory of Russia, these birds lead a quiet family lifestyle. The same dwelling can serve entire generations of storks. Germany seems to hold the record. Storks have been flying to the nest on the city tower for almost four centuries. The males settle in the nests first. Then their friends fly towards them. If the union promises to take place, the male clicks his beak, lifting his head up. The female also joins him in this “song”. For storks, this method of communication is more important than the usual bird song. The cracking of the beak can also be a threat - if a young male pokes his head into the nest and tries to lay claim to this property.

A stork sedately walking through a swamp or shallow water is a typical picture. Frogs, snakes, and rodents are afraid of his attention. The diet of stork chicks that have just hatched from eggs is earthworms. It takes the chicks more than two months to mature and fly. Then they have a long journey to winter. Young storks fly south on their own, trusting only their instinct. Usually they are not wrong.

Black storks are shy; found in the dense forests of Eurasia. There should be swampy forest reservoirs near the nesting site. European black storks winter in Africa. Asians fly for the winter to southern Pakistan, northern India, and Central and Southern China. They get to the south of Japan. Black storks differ from white storks in their slender build, smaller size and the predominance of black tones in their plumage. The number of black storks is declining. The largest population lives on the territory of the Belarusian Zvanets reserve. A separate population exists in the Stavropol Territory, Chechnya and Dagestan.

In Russia, the black stork is found in the territory from the Baltic Sea to Southern Siberia and the Far East. The species is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. It builds nests in the crown of tall trees or on rock ledges.
There are from 4 to 7 eggs in a clutch.

Everyone knows what a stork looks like. If you haven’t met in person, many people know the stork from photos or from numerous brands that use the bird’s image in their logos.

Storks belong to the order Cioridae (anklefish) and are part of the large stork family. The genus of storks includes 7 species of birds, common in Eurasia, Africa and South America.

Stork in flight.

Description

These are large, long-legged, long-necked birds, about 100 cm high. The wingspan of an adult reaches 1.5-2 m. Their legs are devoid of feathers and covered with red mesh skin, and their webbed fingers end in short pink claws. There are also patches of bare red or yellow skin on the neck and head. The straight, elongated beak has a pointed conical shape. The plumage color is various combinations of black and white. Females are slightly smaller than males, but otherwise the birds look the same.

An interesting feature of storks is the almost complete absence of voice. These birds are extremely taciturn and use hissing and clicking beaks to communicate.

Storks live alone or in small groups, and their existence is closely connected with various freshwater biotopes where birds feed and nest.

Stork in the field.

What do storks eat?

Storks eat exclusively animal food. Different species consume fish, shellfish, frogs, snakes, poisonous snakes, lizards, and large insects to a greater or lesser extent. The diet often includes small mammals: rats, mice, moles, gophers, rabbits. Storks stalk their prey by walking leisurely, and when they notice the victim, they run up and grab it. The offspring are first fed by belching from semi-digested food, and then earthworms are thrown into the chicks' mouths.

The stork stayed for the winter.

Features of reproduction

Storks are monogamous and the male and female jointly build the nest, incubate and feed the offspring. The mating rituals of the species differ, for example, the male white stork does not choose a companion, but considers the first female to fly up to the nest as his.

These birds build nests that are unique in size and durability, which are used from generation to generation. Therefore, one of the favorite topics of professional photographers is photos of storks in the nest. The record belongs to white storks, who built and occupied a nest on one of the German towers for almost 4 centuries.

Females lay from 1 to 7 eggs, the incubation period lasts about 30 days. Up to 1.5-2 months, the chicks are completely dependent on their parents, and in the fall the family breaks up. Birds reach sexual maturity at 3 years, and create their own families at 4-6 years. In the wild, storks live for about 20 years; in captivity they can live twice as long.

Stork nest in a village near Nikolaev, Ukraine.

Storks in the nest.

Stork in the nest.

The most famous, numerous and widespread species of storks, one of the symbols of Belarus. Most of them nest in Europe and Asia, and winter in India and Africa. Small populations of Western Europe and South Africa live sedentary.

The height of adult individuals reaches 100-120 cm with a body weight of about 4 kg. The plumage is completely white, only the tips of the wings are black, the beak and limbs are red. The folded wings cover the back of the body, which looks black, which is why in Ukraine this bird is called the Blackgut.

The white stork nests on the roofs of residential and commercial buildings, power line supports, and chimneys of abandoned factories. It builds giant nests; small birds nest in their walls - starlings, sparrows, wagtails. There are from 1 to 7 white eggs in a tray, incubation lasts for 33 days. Weak and sick chicks are mercilessly thrown out of the nest. The flight of young birds occurs 55 days after birth; after another 2 weeks, young birds become independent and, without waiting for their parents, go to wintering.

Stork on takeoff.

White stork in the sky.

White stork in flight.

The bird is also known as the black-billed stork, the Chinese stork, or simply the Far Eastern stork. Initially it was considered a subspecies of the white stork, but has recently been identified as a separate species. The population is about 3 thousand individuals, which are protected by Russia, China and Japan as rare, endangered birds.

The nesting sites of the Far Eastern stork are located in the Amur region and Primorye, on the Korean peninsula, Mongolia and northeastern China. The birds spend the winter in rice fields and swamps in the southern regions of China.

Unlike the white stork, these birds are larger, their beak is black and more massive, and their legs are colored intense red. The main difference is the area of bare red skin around the eyes. These birds avoid people and make nests in swampy, inaccessible areas. Their nests are as high and wide as those of the white stork. The clutch consists of 2-6 eggs.

Far Eastern white stork in flight.

A numerous but little-studied species, widespread throughout Eurasia. The largest number of birds is found in the swampy areas of the Belarusian Zvonets reserve; in Russia, the largest population lives in the Primorsky Territory. For the winter, black storks migrate to southern Asia, with the exception of birds that live sedentary in southern Africa.

These storks are of medium size, about 100 cm high and weighing up to 3 kg. The color is black with a slight greenish or copper tint. The lower chest, belly and undertail are white. The limbs, beak and skin around the eyes are red.

The black stork avoids humans and nests in old dense forests near swamps and shallow reservoirs, sometimes in the mountains. The nests are built high and massive, the clutch contains from 4 to 7 eggs. After 30 days of incubation, the chicks hatch one by one and are completely helpless for about 10 days. The ability to stand on their feet appears only 35-40 days after birth, and young storks leave the nest at the age of 2 months.

A black stork catches a fish.

Black stork on the lake.

A species of stork that lives sedentary on the African continent from Ethiopia to South Africa. The bird population is quite large and its condition is not in danger.

These are small storks, about 73 cm high and weighing no more than 1 kg. The birds received their name due to the white color of the chest and underwings, forming a contrast with the main black plumage. The white-bellied stork has an olive-gray beak. Its legs and eye area are red, and during the breeding season, a patch of bare skin at the base of its beak turns bright blue.

The local name of the bird is rain stork, this is due to the beginning of nesting, which occurs during the rainy season, when the birds gather in large groups on rocky shores and trees. The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs.

White-bellied stork on a dried tree.

A numerous species of storks, widespread in Africa and Asia. Three subspecies live in the tropical forests of Kenya and Uganda, on the islands of Borneo, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok and Java, in the Philippines, Indochina and India.

The height of an adult stork is 80-90 cm. The birds are black with a reddish tint on the shoulders and green on the wings. The belly and undertail are white, and there is a black cap on the head. A distinctive feature of the white-necked stork is its snow-white lush plumage, reminiscent of a scarf, draped from the back of the head and neck to the middle of the chest.

White-necked stork in flight.

The white-necked stork spread its wings.

A white-necked stork bathes.

A South American species of stork that lives over a large area from Venezuela to Argentina.

These are birds of medium height, about 90 cm in height and weighing 3.5 kg. In appearance they strongly resemble a white stork, but differ in their black forked tail, red-orange areas of bare skin around the eyes and a white iris. Old birds can be identified by their bluish-gray beaks.

Birds avoid dense forests, preferring to nest in bushes near water. Nests are built at a height of 1 to 6 m, sometimes directly on the ground. The clutch contains 2-3 eggs, newborn chicks are covered with white down, gradually darken and at 3 months they are practically no different from their parents.

American stork in the sky.

One of the rarest storks, classified as an endangered species. The habitat covers the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, Sumatra, Kalimantan, southern Thailand, Brunei and western Malaysia. Birds live secretly, often alone or in small groups, so photos of storks of this species are very rare.

These are small birds with a height of 75 to 91 cm. The plumage color is coal black, the back of the head and undertail are white. The bird's face is completely devoid of plumage and is covered with orange skin with wide yellow “spectacles” around the eyes. The beak and legs are red. The nests are built small, only 50 cm wide and about 15 cm high. The offspring consists of 2 chicks that are able to fly 45 days after birth.