• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2006

The captive breeding biology of the Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana) was studied over 3 breeding periods. Both the male and female participated in nest building, but the male started to build the nest earlier and spent much time. Time used to build the nest was steadily increased to the egg laying. The copulations were observed $30{\pm}10.53$ (n=3) times in a breeding period. Both male and female incubated their eggs but the female spent more time than the male did. The chicks were hatched $32{\pm}1.29$ (n=6) days after egg laying. Not only the male but also the female took part in the rearing chicks. The male spent more time than the female as chicks grew. The results of this study are useful to assess the ecological soundness of the breeding pair and facilitate the breeding environment in captive breeding of the Oriental white stork.

• Korean Journal of Ornithology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.112-116
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• 2018

Electrocution is one of the key components affecting the mortality of birds. Various electrocution-decreasing methods refer to two directions: safe perching with insulation versus perching restriction. In Yesan County, we have reintroduced 30 oriental storks (Ciconia boyciana) since 2015. Two female storks died due to electrocution while perching in a utility pole in 2016. To reduce such electrocution mortality in storks, a branch of Korea Electric Power Corporation partly installed insulators in 630 utility poles located in the major habitats of Yesan in 2016-2017. Simultaneously, we conducted an experiment to reduce the perching events using 8 captive storks and the two types of common utility poles along with/without the installation of bird-spikes and/or wires in Mar-Jun of 2017. Our results indicated the installation of additional wires alone exhibited a lack of reduction in perching, while those of bird-spikes or both significantly decreased their perching frequencies. Therefore, the present study highlights the installation of bird spikes on top of utility poles may elicit a better effect so that storks avoid perching in utility poles, presumably resulting in lowering potential electrocution in the wild.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.191-196
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• 2010

The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) and the Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) are wetland species listed as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The two species were once common on the Korean peninsula, but have experienced a severe population reduction in the past decades. Currently, they are officially extinct in Korea. At present, reintroduction programs to release the birds to the wild are in progress in Korea as well as in Japan. In this study, we surveyed the historic breeding sites of the two species using the literature and face-to-face interviews with local people as a step toward determining appropriate breeding habitats for reintroduction. We found 26 historic breeding sites for the Oriental White Stork in Chungcheong-do and Gyeonggi-do, but did not find any breeding sites for the Crested Ibis. These findings suggest that the Oriental White Stork was resident, while the Crested Ibis was a winter visitor to Korea. Based on these results, we discuss the possibilities for successful reintroduction of the two species in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2012

The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a representative wetland species distributed across East Asia. The species has been declined to face the threat of species extinctions with estimation of at about 3000 individuals. In order to re-introduce the endangered storks in the field, we developed a baseline model using the program VORTEX, performed sensitivity test, and finally suggested an ideal model based on results of the sensitivity test. The baseline model predicted 12.5% extinction probability with mean time to first extinction of 82.0 year. Sensitivity test revealed that two demographic variables (first-year mortality and percent of adult female breeding) had the greatest impacts on population persistence. Thus, corrected model improved the population persistence, where the extinction probability decreased to 1.0% in 100 years by changing values of two variables within a range of applicable to the population. Our models for stork re-introduction suggest this population will be stable by improving first-year mortality and adult female fecundity.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2021

The oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana) is listed as an endangered species internationally. Its resident population has been extirpated in South Korea since 1971. Its predicted historical habitat included forests (54%), rice paddy fields (28%), grasslands (17%), river-streams (less than 1%), and villages (less than 1%) based on pre-extirpation records in a previous study. However, habitat attributes of recently reintroduced oriental storks since 2015 remain unknown. To examine habitat use patterns and home ranges of recently reintroduced oriental storks, 2015-2017 tracking data of 17 individuals were used to analyze their spatial attributes with a Kernel Density Estimate method and breeding status. Their habitat use patterns from peripheral to core areas were highly associated with increasing rice paddy fields (26%) and decreasing forested areas (55%). Scale-dependent home ranges were 51% smaller for breeders than for non-breeders on average. Our study results highlight that the habitat use pattern of reintroduced oriental storks seems to be comparable to the historical pattern where the used area is likely to be more centralized for breeders than for non-breeders in South Korea. Furthermore, the direction of habitat management for oriental storks should focus on biodiversity improvement of rice paddy fields with chemical free cultivation and irrigation.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.227-236
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• 1984

A migratory bird, the white stork, Ciconia boyciana was captured from a pond in the Cheju Island on the 18th of December in 1982. The morphological characteristics were described as seen in the binocular stereoscopic microscope and the further fine structures were observed by means of the scanning electron microscope (Model; ISI-DS-130). The bird was examined for the ectoparasites at the Cheju Provincial Veterinary Research Laboratory. Two kinds of specimens were collected from the head and body feathers. The specimens were sent to the Institute of Veterinary Research in Anyang for the classification and identification. The specimens preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol were examined and identified as the fowl head-louse, Cuclotogaster heterographus and the slender goose-louse, Anaticola anseris both classified into Family Philopteridae, Ischnocera, Order Mallophaga.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2012

Rice paddy fields have been recognized as an alternative habitat for avian wetland foragers, and fish-rice farms have become a new tool in improving the abundance of aquatic animals. However, the use of the habitats by avian foragers, particularly by oriental storks ($Ciconia$ $boyciana$), was not well understood. In the present study, we investigated how a fish-rice farm influenced the abundance of aquatic animals and documented the foraging behavior of the two captive bred oriental storks in a closed semi-natural paddy field. Our results showed that the fish refuge pond (water depth 40 cm) had a higher abundance of fish whereas the areas planted with rice (water depth 20 cm) had more tadpoles and some aquatic insects. The two captive bred oriental storks captured mostly fish and aquatic insects in the rice-planted area and mostly fish in the fish refuge pond. The two oriental storks had higher foraging success and spent more time for foraging in the rice-planted area than in the fish refuge pond. This result suggests that the oriental storks might prefer foraging in the area with fish, aquatic insects, and amphibians under a greater success rate presumably due to shallow water depth in the paddy fields with a fish-rice farm.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.659-665
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• 2016

We intended to describe a case of chaunocephalosis and morphological characteristics of its causative agent, Chaunocephalus ferox, recovered from an oriental white stork, Ciconia boyciana, in the Republic of Korea. An oriental white stork was referred to the Wildlife Center of Chungbuk in Korea in February 2014 for severe depression with cachexia and it died the next day. At necropsy, the stomach was severely expanded and 7 thick-walled nodules were observed in the upper part of the intestine. Although the stomach was filled with full of foreign materials, the intestine was almost empty. The nodules were globular and total 9 flukes were recovered. They were $8,030-8,091{\mu}m$ in length and $3,318-3,333{\mu}m$ in maximum width. Because the flukes had bulbous forebody with short narrow subcylindrical hindbody, 27 collar spines, and vitelline follicles not reaching to the posterior end, the specimens were identified as being C. ferox. The cyst formation induced thickening of the intestinal wall with narrowing of the lumen that could have contributed to the gastric impaction to the death of the host. This is the first described case of chaunocephalosis and its causative agent C. ferox found from an oriental white stork in Korea.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2021

Reproduction and molt are costly processes in avian life histories. These two fitness-related traits are expected to be under one of physiological trade-offs. Age-related molt is known to be higher in young birds than that in adults presumably due to the cost of reproduction in adults. The present study partially replicated a previous study using a non-invasive method of seasonal wing feather loss instead of capture-inspection for molting progress in oriental storks (Ciconia boyciana). We first examined characteristics of the known six wing feather types (i.e., primaries [P], primary coverts [PC], secondaries [S], secondary coverts [SC], and tertials [T]) from two specimens with four wings. Results were utilized as references for further investigation. We then collected a total of 3,807 wing feathers shedded by 61 captive storks for one year and classified them into six wing feather types based on the reference with structures of vane (i.e., how asymmetrical) and calamus (i.e., how rigidly attached to skin) of wing feathers. Our results indicated that annual losses of all six-type wing feathers decreased with increasing ages, ranging from 29% to 58% for PC, alula, SC, P, S, and T in order. Our results were also comparable to those of a former study, suggesting that the pattern of age-specific molt might be associated with the cost of reproduction in adults. However, juveniles might shed more wing feathers with low quality formed during the previous development stage than older birds.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2009

The Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana) is an endangered species in Korea as well as in the world. In order to provide information on foraging habitats for releasing storks to the wild, we studied the foraging behavior of the species according to different food densities and water levels. We released two individuals, male and female, after enclosing a study site with a fence and cutting out a part of two or three primary feathers. Research was conducted from 20 June to 16 August 2008 at Whawon-ri, Mewon-myung, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. We investigated habitat patch usage, foraging efficiency, and foraging methods of the feeding individuals in the different food densities and water levels. The storks invested more for foraging time and trials, and they captured more food in a habitat of high food density than others. The female invested more time and captured food most in a habitat of lowest water depth while the male in a habitat of middle water depth. However, foraging efficiency did not differ significantly among habitats of food density and water depth, and only differed between male and female by ways of foraging method. From this study we suggest that the storks select foraging habitats and foraging methods under different conditions of food density and water depth.