Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This splendid bird, North America’s only true stork, nests primarily in mangroves and feeds mostly on crustaceans and fish. It is found year-round in the Florida peninsula (mostly near the coast), the Caribbean, and Central and South America, and breeds as far north as Georgia and South Carolina. In areas with heavy human use but little or no disturbance to the birds, they can be seen at very close range.