In the 19th century, the generation of bows and arrows was sophisticated: the most powerful recurve bows of the time could launch an arrow at distances of more than 400 meters and pierce armor at distances greater than that of a football field.
This, however, does not explain how an arrow from Central Africa landed in the small town of Klutz, in northern Germany, in 1822. For this, we have to turn to another owner of the skies: the white stork.
Pfeilstorch, German term meaning “arrow stork”, was the name given to a white stork that landed in the town of Klutz, in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in the spring of 1822. It was named provided an exceptional clinical gift: an arrow threaded through his neck, safe enough to face the migratory adventure of more than 3,000 miles but. sparing the stork’s life because the arrow only went through the stork’s skin.
It is a “gift” to science because, until then, the debate revolved around how birds survived winter.
In 1797, Thomas Bewick, an English artist and herbal history author, hinted at the right kind answer in his ebook A History of British Birds – claiming that a ship’s captain, whose opinion he held in top esteem, witnessed between the islands of Menorca and Majorca “a giant number of swallows are flying north”.
This contrasted with the fallacious but widely held belief that swallows hibernated during the winter months. Bewick even conducted experiments on swallows to keep them warm and feed them during the winter months, but concluded that “they leave us when this country can no longer provide them with adequate, herbal food. “
The hibernation theory was not the only theory Bewick had to deal with. In 1703, a Harvard professor noticed that migratory birds were flying to and from the moon. Others thought that the birds hibernated underwater or, in some cases, metamorphosed into other birds.
These debates were put to rest after the arrival of the Pfeilstorch in Germany. There was only one logical explanation for the African arrow: northerly migration.
The Pfeilstorch was the first in a series of migratory birds to arrive in Europe with arrows in their skin. Ernst Schüz, a German ornithologist active in the early 20th century, recorded several instances of birds carrying embedded arrows. Among them were a white-bellied stork found in Tanganyika, a short-toed eagle in Hungary, a honey buzzard in Finland, and a black kite. He also noted swans and eiders struck with Inuit arrows.
Schüz later observed that such sightings were increasingly rare due to the widespread transfer from bows and arrows to firearms.
The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a migratory bird known for its long-distance movements between its breeding and wintering areas. These birds breed primarily in Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, preferring open landscapes such as wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural fields. .
During migration, they basically follow two main routes: the Eastern Corridor, which takes them through the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East to wintering areas in East Africa, and the Western Corridor, which passes through the Iberian Peninsula and West Africa.
Migrations paths of the white stork.
White storks cross giant bodies of water because they rely on thermal currents to glide in an energy-efficient way. This preference guides them towards land routes such as the Bosphorus in Türkiye and the Strait of Gibraltar. They begin their autumn migration from their breeding grounds between August and October, traveling up to 13,000 kilometers to reach their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. Spring migration begins between January and March, and storks return to their breeding grounds in May.
While many storks continue to follow those classic routes, some Western European populations have adapted to milder winters and abundant food by avoiding their migrations and wintering closer to their breeding grounds. Despite their adaptability, migratory storks face demanding situations such as habitat loss, hunting and climate change.
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