{{taksonomka
| color = pink
| name = Štorklje
| image = Weißstorch.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Bela štorklja<br />''Ciconia ciconia''
| regnum = Animalia (živali)
| phylum = Chordata (strunarji)
| classis = Aves (ptiči)
| ordo = Ciconiiformes (močvirniki)
| familia = '''Ciconiidae'''
| familia_authority = Gray, 1840
| subdivision_ranks = Rodovi
| subdivision = 
Glej besedilo.
}}
'''Štorklje''' so veliki, dolgonogi, dolgovrati družine '''Ciconiidae'''. Pojavljajo se na večini toplejših območij sveta in živijo v bolj suhem okolju kot sorodne sirinksa in so zato neme. Sporazumevajo se tako, da klopotajo s kljuni. Številne vrste so selivske. Štorklje se večinoma prehranjujejo z žabami, ribami, žuželkami, pticami ali vrst štorkelj, ki jih razvrščamo v šest rodov.

Štorklje so jadralci. To pomeni, da si pri letenju pomagajo s toplotnimi zračnimi tokovi in tako prihranijo veliko energije. Znamenite fotografije štorkelj, ki jih je leta 1884 posnel Ottomar Anschütz, so navdihnile poskusni model jadralne naprave, ki jo je v poznem 19. stoletju skonstruiral Otto Lilienthal.

Gnezda štorkelj so pogosto zelo velika in jih uporabljajo mnogo let. Nekatera so v premer zrasla prek 2 metra, v globino pa okrog 3 metre. Nekdaj so menili, da so štorklje monogamne, vendar pa to drži le do neke mere. Partnerja lahko po selitvi zamenjajo in se selijo brez njega. Na svoje gnezdo so navezane prav toliko kot na partnerja.

Zaradi svoje velikosti, serijske monogamije in zvestobe gnezdu, ki so si ga izbrale, je mitološki in kulturni pomen štorkelj zelo velik.

==Vrste==

thumb|right|200px|''Mycteria leucocephala''

*Družina '''Ciconiidae''' 
**Rod ''Mycteria''
***''Mycteria cinerea''
***''Mycteria ibis''
***''Mycteria leucocephala''
***''Mycteria americana''
**Rod ''Anastomus'' 
***''Anastomus oscitans''
***''Anastomus lamelligerus''
**Rod ''Ciconia''
***''Ciconia abdimii''
***''Ciconia episcopus''
***''Ciconia stormi''
***''Ciconia maguari''
***''Ciconia boyciana''
***''Ciconia ciconia'' (bela štorklja)
***''Ciconia nigra'' (črna štorklja)
**Rod ''Ephippiorhynchus''
***''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus''
***''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'' (afriška sedlarica)
**Rod ''Jabiru''
***''Jabiru mycteria''
**Rod ''Leptoptilos''  
***''Leptoptilos javanicus''
***''Leptoptilos dubius''
***''Leptoptilos crumeniferus'' (afriški marabu)

==Simbolična vloga štorkelj==
thumb|200px|Štorklje lahko gradijo gnezda zelo visoko

Nizozemskem in neuradni simbol Poljske, kjer gnezdi okrog 25% štorkelj v Evropi.

{{Taxobox
| name = Storks
| image = Kounotori 06f4233q.jpg
| image_width = 220px
| image_caption = Oriental Stork, ''Ciconia boyciana''
| regnum = Animalia
| phylum = Chordata
| classis = Aves
| subclassis = Neornithes
| infraclassis = Neognathae
| superordo = Neoaves
| ordo = Ciconiiformes
| familia = '''Ciconiidae'''
| familia_authority = Gray, 1840
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 
''Anastomus''<br />
''Ciconia''<br />
''Ephippiorhynchus''<br />
''Jabiru''<br />
''Leptoptilos''<br />
''Mycteria''<br />
}}

'''Storks''' are large, long-legged, long-necked wading bills, belonging to the family '''Ciconiidae'''.

They occur in most of the warmer regions of the world and tend to live in drier habitats than the related syrinx and are mute, giving no communication at the nest. Many species are migratory. Most storks eat frogs, fish, insects, earthworms, and small birds or mammals. There are 19 living species of storks in six genera.

Storks tend to use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy.  Soaring requires thermal air currents.  Ottomar Anschütz's famous 1884 album of photographs of storks inspired the design of Otto Lilienthal's experimental gliders of the late 19th century. Storks are heavy, with wide wingspans: the Marabou Stork, with a wingspan of 3.2 m (10.5 ft), joins the Andean Condor in having the widest wingspan of all living land birds.

Their nests are often very large and may be used for many years. Some have been known to grow to over 2 m (6 ft) in diameter and about 3 m (10 ft) in depth. Storks were once thought to be monogamous, but this is only partially true. They may change mates after migrations, and may migrate without a mate. They tend to be attached to nests as much as partners. 

Storks' size, serial monogamy, and faithfulness to an established nesting site contribute to their prominence in mythology and culture. 

==Etymology==
thumb|right|White Storks build large nests in high places.
The White) stork. Related names also occur in many Eastern European, especially Slavonic languages, originating as Germanic loanwords.

According to the ''New Greek ''torgos'' ("vulture").

thumb|right|Woman defending herself against child-bearing stork. Postcard, c.1900.
In some West Germanic languages cognate words of a different etymology exist. They originate from ''*uda-faro'', ''uda'' being related to ''water'' meaning something like ''swamp'' or ''moist area'' and ''faro'' being related to ''fare'', so ''*uda-faro'' being ''he who walks in the swamp''. In later times this name got reanalyzed as ''*ōdaboro'', ''ōda'' "fortune, wealth" + ''boro'' "bearer" meaning ''he who brings wealth'' adding to the myth of storks as maintainers of welfare and bringing the children:

In Estonian, "stork" is ''toonekurg'', which is derived from ''toonela'' (crane). It may seem not to make sense to associate the now-common white stork with death, but at the times they were named, the now-rare black stork was probably the more common species.

==Systematics==
Distinct and possibly widespread by the Oligocene, like most families of aquatic birds storks seem to have arisen in the Paleogene, maybe 40-50 million years ago. For the fossil record of living genera, see there.

Though some storks are highly threatened, no species or subspecies are known to have gone extinct in historic times. A ''Ciconia'' bone found in a rock shelter on Réunion was probably of a bird taken there as food by early settlers; no known account mentions the presence of storks on the Mascarenes.

'''Family Ciconidae'''
* Genus ''Mycteria''
** Milky Stork (''Mycteria cinerea'')
** Yellow-billed Stork (''Mycteria ibis'')
** Painted Stork ('' Mycteria leucocephala'')
** Wood Stork (''Mycteria americana'')
* Genus ''Anastomus'' 
** Asian Openbill Stork, '' Anastomus oscitans ''
** African Openbill Stork,  '' Anastomus lamelligerus  ''
* Genus ''Ciconia''
** Abdim's Stork, '' Ciconia abdimii  ''
** Woolly-necked Stork, '' Ciconia episcopus  ''
** Storm's Stork,  ''Ciconia stormi  ''
** Maguari Stork,  '' Ciconia maguari  ''
** Oriental Stork,  '' Ciconia boyciana  ''
** White Stork ''Ciconia ciconia''
** Black Stork ''Ciconia nigra''
* Genus ''Ephippiorhynchus''
** Black-necked Stork, '' Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus  ''
** Saddle-billed Stork, '' Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis  ''
* Genus ''Jabiru''
** Jabiru '' Jabiru mycteria''
* Genus ''Leptoptilos''  
** Lesser Adjutant, ''Leptoptilos javanicus''
** Greater Adjutant,  '' Leptoptilos dubius ''
** Marabou Stork, ''Leptoptilos crumeniferus ''

===Extinct Species===
*Genus ''Palaeoephippiorhynchus'' (fossil: Early Oligocene of Fayyum, Egypt)<!-- ActaPaleontolPol50:549 -->
*Genus ''Grallavis'' (fossil: Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France, and Djebel Zelten, Libya) - may be same as ''Prociconia''
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. (Ituzaingó Late Miocene of Paraná, Argentina)<ref>Tarsometatarsus fragments somewhat similar to ''Mycteria'': Cione ''et al.'' (2000), Noriega & Cladera (2005)</ref>
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. (Puerto Madryn Late Miocene of Punta Buenos Aires, Argentina)<ref>Specimen MEF 1363: Incomplete skeleton of a large stork somewhat similar to ''Jabiru'' but apparently more plesiomorphic: Noriega & Cladera (2005)</ref>
*Genus ''Prociconia'' (fossil: Late Pleistocene of Brazil) - may belong to modern genus ''Jabiru'' or ''Ciconia''<!-- Evolution39:1174 -->
*Genus ''Pelargosteon'' (fossil: Early Pleistocene of Romania)
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. - formerly ''Aquilavus/Cygnus bilinicus'' (fossil: Early Miocene of Břešťany, Czechia)
thumb|right|thumb|upright|[[Painted Stork, ''Mycteria leucocephala'']]
thumb|right|upright|Male [[Black-necked Stork, ''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'' (note dark iris)]]
*cf. ''Leptoptilos'' gen. et sp. indet. - formerly ''L. siwalicensis'' (fossil: Late Miocene? - Late Pliocene of Siwalik, India)<ref>Specimens BMNH 39741 (holotype, left proximal tarsometatarsus) and BMNH 39734 (right distal tibiotarsus). Similar to ''Ephippiorhynchus'' and ''Leptotilos'', may be from a small female of ''Leptotilos falconeri'', from ''L. dubius'', or from another species: Louchart ''et al.'' (2005)</ref>
*Ciconiidae gen. et sp. indet. (radius of a mid-sized ''Ciconia'' or smallish ''Mycteria'': Steadman ''et al.'' (1994)</ref>

The fossil genus ''Ciconiopsis'' (Deseado Early Oligocene of Patagonia, Argentina) is often tentatively placed with this family.

==Symbolism of storks==
===Childbirth ===
thumb|right|Baby-bearing stork in [[Buster Brown cartoon]]
In Western culture the White Stork is a symbol of Victorian times the details of human reproduction were difficult to approach, especially in reply to a younger child's query of "Where did I come from?"; "The stork brought you to us" was the tactic used to avoid discussion of sex. This habit was derived from the once popular superstition that storks were the harbingers of happiness and prosperity, and possibly from the habit of some storks of nesting atop chimneys, down which the new baby could be imagined as entering the house.

The image of a stork bearing an infant wrapped in a sling held in its beak is common in popular culture. The small pink or reddish patches often found on a newborn child's eyelids, between the eyes, on the upper lip, and on the nape of the neck are sometimes still called "stork bites". In fact they are clusters of developing veins that soon fade.

The stork's folkloric role as a bringer of babies and harbinger of luck and prosperity may originate from the Netherlands and Northern Germany, where it is common in children's nursery stories.

In Walt Disney's 4th classic Dumbo, the stork (more generally "Mr. Stork") delivers babies to their animal mothers. At the beginning of the film, he delivers Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo. He is voiced by Sterling Holloway. 