Pfeilstorch Explained

de|'''Pfeilstorch'''|arrow stork|paren=left, pronounced as /de/; plural German: '''Pfeilstörche''', pronounced as /de/) is a stork that is injured by an arrow or spear while wintering in Africa and returns to Europe with the projectile stuck in its body. As of 2003, about 25 German: Pfeilstörche have been documented in Germany.^[1]

The first and most famous German: Pfeilstorch was a white stork found in 1822 near the German village of Klütz, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It was carrying a 30inches spear from central Africa in its neck.^{[2] [3]} The specimen was stuffed and can be seen today in the zoological collection of the University of Rostock. It is therefore referred to as the German: Rostocker Pfeilstorch.^{[4] [5] [6]}

This German: Pfeilstorch was crucial in understanding the migration of European birds. Before migration was understood, people struggled to explain the sudden annual disappearance of birds like the white stork and barn swallow. Besides migration, some theories of the time held that they turned into other kinds of birds, mice, or hibernated underwater during the winter, and such theories were even propagated by zoologists of the time.^{[7] [8] [9]} The German: Rostocker Pfeilstorch in particular proved that birds migrate long distances to wintering grounds.^[10]

Further reading

• de . Hagen . H. . 1975 . Beobachtung eines Pfeilstorches in Ost-Afrika . White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) with arrow protruding from its body seen in East Africa . Ornithologische Mitteilungen . 27 . 5 . 111–112 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2003 . Der Rostocker Pfeilstorch . The Rostock Pfeilstorch . Der Sprössling . University of Rostock . 9–10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150213064131/http://www.biofachschaft.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/MathNat_Bio_Fachschaft/Sproessling_Nr._3_SS03.pdf . 2015-02-13 . Mittlerweile sind etwa 25 Fälle bekannt geworden, in denen Weißstörche ganze Pfeile oder Bruchstücke aus Afrika nach Deutschland mitbrachten. . Since then, around 25 cases wherein white storks have brought with them either entire arrows or fragments from Africa to Germany have become known. .
2. Web site: Curious Questions: How did a stork with a spear through its neck solve the mystery of the migration of birds? . Martin . Fone . 11 January 2020 . countrylife.co.uk . 18 December 2020 .
3. Web site: Vogelzug: Die wahre Geschichte vom Pfeilstorch . spektrum.de . 20 May 2022 . Hakan . Baykal . de . Bird Migration: The True Story of the Arrow Stork . November 15, 2022 .
4. Web site: Zoologische Sammlung der Universität Rostock . https://web.archive.org/web/20111002041540/http://www.zoologie.uni-rostock.de/sammlung/ . 2 October 2011 . de .
5. Web site: Flyer for the Rostock University Zoological Collection . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20120322113930/http://www.zoologie.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/MathNat_Bio_Zoologie/ZSRO_Flyer_2007_Engl.pdf. 22 March 2012.
6. Web site: Der Sproessling 3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141125180016/http://www.biofachschaft.uni-rostock.de/fileadmin/MathNat_Bio_Fachschaft/Sproessling_Nr._3_SS03.pdf . 25 November 2014 . de.
7. Book: Birds Britannica . Chatto & Windus . Cocker, Mark . Mabey, Richard . Richard Mabey . 2005 . 315 . 0-7011-6907-9.
8. Web site: The Weirdest Ideas About Bird Migration . Ross . Pomeroy . February 19, 2018 . www.realclearscience.com . 2019-12-19.
9. News: Flight Paths. The New York Times. 2015-05-15. MacDonald. Helen.
10. Book: Kinzelbach, Ragnar K. . Das Buch vom Pfeilstorch . Basilisken-Presse . 2005 . 3-925347-78-X . de.