The White Stork in Georgia is considered as a rare migratory breeder, with limited breeding range, the number of which is reducing and very rare in small numbers passage visitor. During breeding season species is occuried only in Southern Georgia at the Lesser Caucasia - at the Javakhethi Upland (Abuladze, 1987; Abuladze et al., 1986; Abuladze & Eligulashvili, 1986; Kutubidze, 1985; Zhordania, 1962). The area of breeding distribution includes Akhalqalaqi and Gomarethi lowlands, Tzalka hollow, slopes of the Abul-Samsari and Javakhethi ridges. All known nests are located between vertical limits from 1250 to 2400 m a.s.l. The number of breeding pairs does not exceed 80 pairs in 1984-2001. Besides that, White Stork is recorded as vagrant species for south-eastern areas of country. From the middle of 1980s' this bird was irregularly recorded during the breeding seasons in small numbers (mainly by single individuals) in South-East of Georgia, along border with Azerbaijan. But nesting here, at Gardabani Lowland, is not confirmed. This bird was recorded here several times: on 1984 at the bank of Jandari Lake (two single adult storks); on 1988 (pair); on 1990 (one single adult); on 1990 (one single adult); on 22 August 1996 in field near Khrami River bank (pair with two youngs). The last observation (single adult bird) was recorded on 29 June 1997 at Gardabani Lowland, 2.5 km west of Jandari Lake.


References:

ABULADZE, A. 1987. laklaki saqarthveloshi [White Stork in Georgia]. Sakartvelos Buneba, 5: p. 21 (In Georgian).
ABULADZE, A.V, ELIGULASHVILI, V.E. 1986. The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia L.) in Georgia. Bull. of Acad. of Sci. of Georgia, 124, 2: pp. 417-420 (in Russian, summary in English).
ABULADZE A., KANDAUROV A., ELIGULASHVILI V., EDISHERASHVILI G. 1986. The Status of the Storks in Georgia. - Study of Birds of the USSR / 1st Cong. of Orn. Soc. of the USSR and 9th All-Union Orn. Conf. Abstracts, 1: pp. 19-20 (in Russian).
KUTUBIZE, M. 1985. The Guide of Birds of Georgia. Tbilisi: 648 pp. (in Georgian).
LEBEDEVA, M.I. 1960. On the numbers of White Stork in USSR. Ornitologija, 3. Moscow: 413-419 (in Russian).
LEBEDEVA, M.I. 1975. White Stork in USSR. Materials of the All-Union Conference on birds migrations, Moscow: (in Russian).
RADDE, G.I. 1884. The Ornithological Fauna of Caucasia (Ornis Caucasica). Tiflis: - 451 pp. (in Russian).
TSVETKOV, E.V. 1901. Ornithological observations in environs of Belyi Kljuch. Materials on study of fauna and flora of Russ. Imp. Zool. Depart.,: 62-102 (in Russian).
ZHORANIA, R.G. 1962. The Ornithofauna of Lesser Caucasia (within limits of Georgia). Tbilisi: 288 pp. (in Russian).

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