The Stork in Lithuanian Myth and Memory
The Reverent Bird
Discovering the Stork
I first encountered the stork in Lithuania from the back of a bicycle. It was in the midst of summer, in July, while cycling through the meadows northwest of Vilnius. We were on our way to Kernavė for the Midsummer Festival, where we would light bonfires, sing songs, eat sausages, and float candles on the river. The day was hot and the sun was intense, and wildlife was abundant. We saw several cats, a solitary crane, and even a fox. We navigated dirt and sand paths, sticking to the forest as much as possible. Occasionally, overwhelmed by the sand, we found ourselves on paved back roads without trees. Several hours into our ride, we spotted a utility pole rising above the scrubland. A nest. A thin bird was visible atop it, and I pointed to the sky. “A stork!” We watched as it glided silently downward, eventually disappearing into the meadow below.
The Ballad of Kukutis
“My Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania) is grand,
In one corner,
A stork stands,
In another,
It clatters its beak.”
Thus begins the Lithuanian poem “Kukutis Visits Vilnius,” from the collection “The Ballads of Kukutis” by Marcelijus Martinaitis. The longer you live in Lithuania, the more nature seems to appear in everything. Vilnius’s coat of arms features an iron wolf. Other cities celebrate aurochs, elk, and bears. A local proverb goes: “If you flee from a wolf, you might encounter a bear.”
Since 1973, Lithuania has recognized the stork as its national bird, a symbol of family, domestic life, birth, and prosperity. Like many European cultures, Lithuanians traditionally believe that storks bring babies to homes. The phrase “Gandras atnešė broliuką!”—“The stork brought a little brother!”—is still used by midwives today. It is also said that storks bring harmony to the homes where they build their nests. As I saw on my bike trip, many village homes still place old wagon wheels or poles hoping a stork family will build their nest there.
Postage Stamp “Lithuania’s National Bird, the Stork”
My First Encounter with the Stork
My first sighting of a stork was in the ruins of an old settlement in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Chellah is an ancient Islamic necropolis on the banks of the Bou Regreg River. Entering through an archway, I found myself among sand-compacted walls, royal tombs, and a sense of stepping back in time. Remnants from the Roman era, when it was called Sala, were still visible in the walls and columns. Grass and earth infiltrated the delicate arabesque arches. Broken pillars stretched skyward like lilies. Atop one of these, built in the 13th century, was a massive stork nest. Within these ruins, I found a small stork family preening their feathers, indifferent to my fleeting presence.
Stork Nests
In Lithuania, Morocco, and even the Lake District of Lebanon, storks display remarkable nesting behaviors. Their nests, often perched on roofs, outbuildings, utility poles, and water towers, are circular and expansive. Human help is usually required to construct the nest’s base. Storks themselves bring sturdy branches, compacting them with sod, hay, and manure.
Even as the young storks hatch and grow, the parent birds continue to build up and repair the nest. Inevitably, the finished structure becomes a massive stronghold capable of withstanding storms and high winds. Storks may leave their nests for winter migration but often return to the same nests six months later.
Maronas kaip mergai busilas (As Comfortable as a Stork to a Maiden)
Certainly, the form of the stork is endearing. Imagine the bird in your mind: grace and nobility come to the fore. Long, slender legs lead to a long, slender neck, ending in a long, slender beak. Though called the “white stork,” this is somewhat misleading; only its upper body is white. Its beak and legs are reddish, and its wing tips are ashen black. With eyes glinting like an alien’s, it hunts frogs, fish, and worms. The stork loves to soar high, alternating between flapping and gliding. By day, it walks the wet meadows, pools, and pastures, flat-footed like a human, searching for food.
Ciconia ciconia—the scientific name echoes the sound of its clattering beak. Yet, intriguingly, the stork lacks a voice. Birdwatchers cannot record its song, for it has no vocal organ. American humorist Will Cuppy once remarked, “The stork does not have a voice because there’s really nothing to say.” The stork can clatter its beak or make a sound that resembles a wooden toy.
The Flying Man
In 1884, German photographer Ottomar Anschütz published a photo series of storks, capturing their broad wings and playful spirit. Stretched out, they looked like ballet dancers resting between rehearsals. This series is said to have influenced the experimental glider designs of “The Flying Man,” Otto Lilienthal.
As a child, Otto, with his brother Gustav, trekked the meadows outside their hometown of Anklam. They tested how close they could get to the storks, which had a poor sense of smell. Hours were spent observing the storks’ flight and trajectories, leading them to realize that the key to flight was not wing flapping but gliding. Storks glide through the air, covering great distances with minimal effort.
Inspired, Otto later published a book on the aerodynamics of birds. Together with his brother, he developed a new type of hang glider, controlling roll and pitch through the pilot’s skillful weight shifts. More than ten years before the Wright brothers, the Lilienthal brothers conducted flight experiments on the hills outside the village of Derwitz. Otto wrote, “We went home convinced that gliding flight was not the exclusive domain of birds.” Over five years, he made around 2,000 flights before a tragic gust of wind caused him to lose balance, falling 50 feet to his death.
The Stork in Mythology
The Ancient Legends
In ancient Europe, the tale of the stork delivering babies has been a long-standing tradition. The belief that storks carry infants dates back centuries and is thought to have originated from Slavic traditions. Early Slavic mythology tells of Veles, the god who guards an iron gate leading to the land of Viraž, located in the crown of the cosmic tree. During winter, birds would fly to Viraž, and in spring, they would return to earth carrying human souls. The stork, in particular, was believed to transport these souls into the wombs of pregnant women. In Estonian, the stork is called “tuulekratt,” derived from “tūnela,” the underworld.
Yet, evidence suggests that the relationship between storks and souls might be even more ancient. In ancient Egypt, the stork symbolized the human soul, known as the “ba.” Hieroglyphs depicting storks represented the soul’s connection to the earth, with stork legs firmly planted on the ground. When three storks appeared together, they symbolized “strength.” It was known that the soul would fly during the night while one slept and return before dawn.
The Stork’s Modern Tale
The belief that storks bring babies became widespread in the modern era thanks to Hans Christian Andersen’s 19th-century story “The Storks.” In this tale, storks find babies in caves or marshes, placing them in baskets or their beaks to deliver them to homes. This narrative became a popular way for parents to explain the arrival of newborns to their other children.
The Pious Bird
The stork’s association with family is no coincidence. In Hebrew, the word for stork, “chasidah,” means “kind mother.” The English name “stork” originates from the Greek “storgē,” meaning familial love. Ancient naturalists observed that stork parents often did not take much care of their offspring. Instead, the young tended to look after the old, signifying the duty of the young to care for the elderly.
An account from the 19th-century Christian monthly “The Guardian” in 1854, describes how Danish observers witnessed “several old birds, exhausted and weak from long flights, being supported on the backs of younger storks. When they return home, the old ones are tenderly laid to rest in their nests, cared for by the young they once reared.”
For early Christians, the stork became a symbol of marital fidelity, featuring in Henry Peacham’s 17th-century book “Minerva Britanna.” The Romans called the stork “avis pia” (the pious bird), and during the Renaissance, it was known as “avis piissima” (the most pious bird). The 16th-century playwright Francis Beaumont wrote:
“The stork is a true emblem of piety,
For when aged mother cannot fly,
A grateful youth bears her on his back,
Feeding her, in thanks for her care.”
Geographical Symbolism
Lithuania’s abundance of storks makes the bird a national symbol. Each summer, approximately 20,000 breeding pairs gather in Lithuania, accounting for about 8.4% of the global population and the highest concentration in Europe. They are often found in remote villages, the Aukštaitija National Park, and the western coastal regions.
In Lithuanian, the stork is called “gandras,” derived from Old English “gandra” (male goose), with origins in the Proto-Indo-European word “ghans” meaning “goose.” However, across Lithuania, the stork is known by various names: busilu, starkumi, gužu, gužučiu, bacionu, and in the Samogitian dialect, gožos.
Seasons and the Stork
Storks herald the seasons.
Spring: The arrival of storks in Lithuania around March 25, celebrated as “Gandrinės” or “Blovieščiai,” signifies the onset of spring. Farmers sow seeds, light straw fires, and hang fruits, chocolates, pencils, and dyed eggs on branches and fences as gifts for children. It’s said that snakes emerge from their burrows on this day, and for luck, a snake should be caught and buried under the doorstep.
In pagan times, Lithuanian tribes celebrated the New Year on this day. The first sighting of a stork was believed to determine one’s fortune for the year: a flying stork promised a bountiful year, academic success for students, and marriage prospects for unmarried women.
Summer: Storks find mates, build nests, and rear their young. They reside in meadows, villages, on rooftops, and utility poles, awaiting the great migration. Adults teach their fledglings to fly and hunt, catching insects, mice, lizards, and worms, which are often considered nuisances to daily farm work.
Autumn: The departure. According to Lithuanian tradition, storks begin their southward journey around St. Bartholomew’s Day on August 24, though the exact timing varies. The regularity of their migration is legendary, even mentioned in the Bible: “Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons” (Jeremiah 8:7).
Before heading south, storks gather in large groups called “seimas” and then take to the sky. However, not all can make the journey; the sick, weak, or injured remain and overwinter in barns or other shelters. A Lithuanian proverb goes, “After St. Bartholomew’s, walk like a stork.”
Forward, and Southward
Once on the horizon, the journey truly begins. Storks ascend to altitudes of 1500 meters and can traverse long distances within weeks. They ride air currents from Estonia, cross the Carpathian Mountains, travel through Bulgaria, the Bosphorus, Lebanon, the Nile, and continue to Africa—crossing deserts and savannas of Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Botswana. They join their smaller cousins: Abdim’s stork, the openbill stork, and the woolly-necked stork. Their arrival in these regions often heralds the dry season, a sign of fortune for many. The 8000-10000km journey takes about two to three months.
By October, many storks reach South Africa, coinciding with the spring and the onset of the rainy season. Known by various names such as “ingwamza,” “ingwangwane,” “umgodojya,” and in Zululand as “unogolantethe” (grasshopper catcher), storks are linked to femininity and fertility, likely due to their proximity to water and the spring breeding season. In North Sotho culture, stork ashes mixed in ointment are believed to prevent illness and aid in the fusion of a baby’s skull.
The storks’ migration routes are fairly regular, dictated by the precision of air currents, but they are not without peril. Weak birds may collide with power lines, and certain narrow passages, like Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Lake Qaraoun, become deadly hunting grounds. Every year, thousands of birds are illegally hunted during their migration seasons.
Curiously, storks helped scientists discover the phenomenon of bird migration. In the early 19th century, little was known about this, with some believing birds hibernated or turned into mice during winter. However, in 1822, a stork was found near the German village of Klütz with an African arrow through its neck. Known as the “Pfeilstorch” (arrow stork), this and subsequent discoveries revealed their incredible journeys.
The Middle Eastern Winter and Beyond
The wild migrations of storks predate human memory, spanning millennia. Mentioned in the Bible, they are seen in great numbers in Aleppo and Seville. In Baghdad, hundreds of storks were observed nesting on houses, walls, and trees.
“The Guardian” from the 19th century notes, “These birds are exceedingly abundant in the Holy Land…between Cana and Nazareth, there are innumerable flocks, each containing thousands of birds. In some areas, the ground is entirely whitened by them, and they darken the air like a cloud.” They were often seen atop pine trees due to the flat roofs of houses. In Iran’s Persepolis and Chilminar, nests were found on each remaining column. Whether on Lithuanian power poles or Persian ruins, storks never fail to stir the explorer’s spirit.
“Like Columbus, the stork embarks on its quest,
Seeking new worlds beyond the horizon.
Who convenes the council, proclaiming the coming day?
Who gathers comrades, who shows the way?”
– Alexander Pope
