The Behavior and Breeding of Adult Maguari Storks

An 11-year study of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) in the llanos (flatlands) of Venezuela is reported. Stork behaviors are described in the following contexts: arrival flocks, roosting, pre-nesting social assemblies, nest site choice, nest building, copulation, nestling care and defense, adult feeding, sun and water bathing. The storks nested in bushes and short trees. Nesting was both colonial and solitary, and nest defense behaviors varied accordingly from mobbing to distraction display. Nesting success during three years was greater for colonial nesters (67%) than for solitary nesters (42%).