In most situations throughout their lives storks do not need vocal communication at all. Storks inhabit open landscape, they are large birds of distinct coloration, so they are  well visible even from a distance and find visual signals sufficient to maintain contact with their kindred.

Only sometimes, when standing in the nest, stork happens to "say something". Widely known is the ceremony of greeting. Its aim is to recognize partners coming back home, suppress aggression and abstain from the automatic reaction of protecting a nest from intruders.

When one stork is standing in the nest and another one flies towards it, they start the ritual of gestures with their heads, necks and wings, accompanied by long, loud clattering of beaks. Simultaneously storks produce silent sounds by letting the air go through the trachea. In most cases  it is a short humming whistle or a hiss reminding a loud whisper, rarely - a hoarse purr.

Nestlings give voice more often and louder, especially when they urge their parents to feed them – they produce sounds resembling mewing or hissing, whistle or squeal hoarsely, sometimes they clatter.