Bald and Beautiful

Woodstork holding a tree pose

The Woodstork is a large bald-headed wading bird with a wingspan of 60-65 inches. They have a featherless gray head and are mostly white with under feathers that can appear a greenish purple in sunlight. Adults are voiceless, making only a hissing sound, but the young make loud demanding calls when they want to be fed. Due to declining natural habitats they were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1984. But successful conservation efforts brought their numbers back up and they were downlisted in June, 2014.

“Hold that pose!”

While they feed in marsh wetlands, they can be seen perched in trees nearby throughout St. Johns County and throughout central and south Florida and parts of South America. They are fish eaters and have a most unique way of catching their prey in muddy waters that obscure sight. They locate food by tactolocation - swinging their long beaks back and forth as they wade through muddy waters.

Through touch - tactolocation - they have a reflex action, the fastest known for vertebrates, clocked at 25 milliseconds. The photos above show this unique way of feeding.

Incoming!

In flight they use slow wing flaps to move gracefully through the air despite their somewhat awkward look, with long legs for wading and pink feet. They can also be seen riding a wind current high above the wetlands. Visit GO FISH on my site to purchase a canvas print or a photo card of this interesting local bird.