Description:
The wood stork is a tall wading bird that reaches a height of approximately 50 inches, with a wingspan of 65 inches.  Body color is white overall, except for the short tail, primary, and secondary feathers, which are black.  The head and upper neck are black or gray in color, bare, and scaly.  The bill is typically gray, elongate and downcurved, thick at its base.  The legs are long and gray in color, with the feet being pink.  Wood storks are considered endangered, with fewer than 5,000 pairs of birds nesting each year, down from estimates of over 20,000 pairs in the 1930's, and 10,000 pairs in 1960. 

Habitat:
Wood storks utilize a variety of habitats in freshwater and brackish wetlands.  They prefer to nest in cypress and mangrove swamps;  but feed in freshwater ponds, tidal creeks, salt marshes, mangrove swamps and mudflats.

Range:
Wood storks range from South Carolina through both coasts of Florida, with additional population pockets in Alabama, Mississippi, central Louisiana, and southeastern Texas.  To the south, the range extends through Mexico, Central America and South America to Argentina.  Breeding in the United States is now restricted to parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, though historically, breeding occurred throughout much of the southern United States.