Villagers came to the rescue after the birds ice-covered wings forced them to spend the night on the ground instead of perched on trees as usual.

“I found five frozen storks near the village road the day before yesterday,” said Safet Halil, from the village of Zaritsa. “I took them home, lit a stove to warm them and fed them fish.”

“It’s the first time that we have seen so many storks in distress in Bulgaria,” said Hristina Klisurova from the Green Balkans wildlife rehabilitation centre in Stara Zagora.

The sub-zero temperatures and snowstorms are set to continue until the end of the week.

“It is minus 3C (27F) today and the weather is getting worse,” said Halil.

In neighboring Romania, more than 200 small birds were found frozen to death this week.