During the summer, the black stork is found from Eastern Asia (
Siberia and northern China) west to
Central Europe, reaching Estonia in the north, Poland,
Lower Saxony and
Bavaria in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Greece in the south, with an outlying population in the central-southwest region of the Iberian Peninsula (
Extremadura and surrounding provinces of Spain, plus Portugal). It is
migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and Asia, although certain populations of black storks are sedentary or dispersive. Most of the black storks that summer in Europe migrate to Africa, and Africa. Those summering further east in eastern Russia and China winter mainly in
southern China, and occasionally in Hong Kong, Myanmar,
northern Thailand, and Laos. The black stork prefers more wooded areas than the better-known white stork, and breeds in large marshy
wetlands with interspersed
coniferous or
broadleaved woodlands, but also inhabits hills and mountains with sufficient networks of
creeks. It usually inhabits ponds, rivers, edges of lakes, estuaries and other freshwater wetlands. It appears to be increasing in numbers in Spain and Portugal, where the population was estimated at 405 to 483 pairs in 2006. It has been recorded in
Scotland six times between 1946 and 1983, including from Shetland, Orkney and the Highlands, as well as the Scottish Borders (
Peebles). It is not abundant in the western parts of its distribution, but more densely inhabits eastern
Transcaucasia. Further east, it has been recorded from locations across Iran, though little is known about its habits there; breeding has been recorded from near Aliabad in
Fars province,
Khabr National Park in
Kerman province,
Karun river in
Khuzestan province, Qaranqu River in
East Azarbaijan province, and Aliabad river in
Razavi Khorasan province. The population has declined in Iran due to draining of wetlands. East of the
Ural Mountains, the black stork is patchily found in forested and mountainous areas up to
60°‒
63° N across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. South of Siberia, it breeds in
Xinjiang, northwestern China, northern Mongolia south to the
Altai Mountains, and northeastern China south to the vicinity of Beijing. In the
Korean peninsula, the black stork is an uncommon summer visitor, no longer breeding in the south since 1966. Birds have been seen in the northeast but it is not known whether they breed there. Similarly it has been seen in the summer in Afghanistan, but its breeding status is uncertain. Some of the
Iberian populations, and also those in southern Africa, are essentially non-migratory, though they may wander freely in the non-breeding areas. Since thermals only form over land, the black stork, together with large
raptors, must cross the
Mediterranean at the narrowest points, and many black storks travel south through the
Bosphorus and on through the Sinai, The western route goes over the
Rock of Gibraltar or over the
Bay of Gibraltar, generally on a southwesterly track that takes them to the central part of the strait, from where they reach Morocco. Many birds then fly around the
Sahara next to the coast. Spain contains several important areas—
Monfragüe National Park,
Sierra de Gredos Regional Park,
National Hunting Reserve in Cíjara,
Natural Park of the Sierra Hornachuelos and
Doñana National Park—where black storks stop over on the western migration route. Pesticide use has threatened birdlife in nearby Doñana. Further south,
Lake Faguibine in Mali is another stopover point but it has been affected by drought in recent years. == Behaviour ==