Common stork's bill vs small tortoiseshell

Erodium ciconium compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Common stork's bill is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common stork's bill	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Geraniales (Geraniales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Geraniaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Erodium	Aglais
Species	Erodium ciconium	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Common stork's bill

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common stork's bill	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common stork's bill

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (8 countries) and North America (United States).

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common stork's bill

<em>Erodium ciconium</em>, the common stork's-bill, is an annual or biennial flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, order Geraniales. It is native to the Mediterranean region and southern Europe and has been introduced to parts of North America. The species typically inhabits dry, disturbed habitats including roadsides, cultivated fields, rocky slopes, and coastal areas, favoring sandy or calcareous soils with good drainage. Its pink to purple flowers are relatively small, and the distinctive elongated fruit resembles a stork's bill, a characteristic shared across the genus <em>Erodium</em>. The beak-like fruits are adapted for wind and animal dispersal, with hygroscopic awns that drill the seed into the soil through coiling movements in response to moisture changes. Biological traits such as typical lifespan duration, average biomass, and detailed dietary associations remain poorly documented at the species level. <em>Erodium ciconium</em> has not been formally evaluated by the IUCN, though it is generally considered a common species without significant conservation concern across most of its range.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 8 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland