<sec><title>Capsule</title>Age, arrival date and egg laying date are essentially closely related and determine reproductive performance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia.</sec><sec><title>Aims</title>To describe the impact
of age, arrival date and egg laying date on breeding success in the White Stork.</sec><sec><title>Methods</title>Ringing data from a White Stork breeding colony of 212 nests at Dréan, Algeria, were used to model the relationship between age, arrival date,
laying date and reproductive performance. Seventy breeders that were individually colour-ringed as nestlings were monitored.</sec><sec><title>Results</title>Birds breeding on the periphery of the colony had significantly smaller nests and showed a tendency towards
later laying dates, but they did not differ from centrally nesting birds in age or arrival date. First year birds did not breed and second year birds were significantly more likely than older age groups to occupy nests but fail to lay eggs. Older birds arrived earlier at the breeding colony
and had a higher probability of initiating laying than younger birds. They also had a higher probability of nesting successfully and fledging a larger number of young.</sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title>Age determined arrival and laying dates and influenced
breeding performance in the White Stork.</sec>
The first observation of obligate saproxylic chafer larvae inside white stork Ciconia ciconia nest
