Black stork Must-toonekurg Ciconia nigra
Three storklets are left in our stork nest.
The female removed the weakened storklet from the nest at 18.18 on Thursday. If it was simply an underdeveloped young bird or had some disease or parasite that might be a danger also to the survival of the remaining chicks will stay unknown to us.
Actually the female has checked the strength of the two smallest from time to time during the last four days, but when she met a strong resistance she left the chicks alone. Why and how these things occur is not clear to ornithologists in the world either. It is simply important for the birds to preserve a vital annual offspring.
The male replaced the female on the nest at 19.10, assured himself that the chick lifted out of the nest had no hope of life and started to feed the three storklets. At 20.30 the male started to remove the dead storklet from the nest.
What happens in nature may seem brutal to us but looking at the survival of the species such actions have been justified over the millennia.
Still, a pity.
