THE STORK. 



225 



was the time when the herons were preserved with the utmost care, and the 

 heronries watched over and provided with every necessary. There are very 

 {dv^ of these old heronries left in the country. 



The young- heron soon becomes tame, and gets reconciled to captivity, 

 but the old ones pine away and die. In the old days, however, and when the 

 heron had to be procured in order to train the hawk to fly at him, he was 

 crammed with food like a turkey. Often, after this had been done, the bird 

 would become tame, and follow his owner about for miles, and come when 

 he was called, and take food from his hand. 



In most cases the bill of the fishing bird is lined towards the point with 

 bristles. The bristles point backward, so that the food can slip easily over 

 them, but it cannot come back without being caught on the bristly hooks. 

 There is no crop at all, and the food goes at once into the stomach. The 

 throat of the heron has the power of stretching out Avhen it gulps down a fish 

 too big for it. It stretches into a fan-like shape, and then comes back again 

 when the fish has G:one down. 



THE STORK. 



The white stork is so seldom seen in Britain, that its habits cannot be 

 studied here. We must visit its favourite haunts abroad to become acquainted 

 with it. 



It is a near relation of the heron, and has long and slender legs, and 

 a long and rather thick neck. The bill is as long again as the head, and 

 tapers to a point. 



In the countries where it lives it is cherished with the utmost affection. 

 In Holland the people in the towns and cities place wooden boxes or frames 

 on the tops of the houses or chimneys to induce the storks to settle there. 

 And the storks are perfectly tame, and are thought to bring prosperity to 

 the person who entertains them. 



The stork goes away in the winter, to Egypt or some warm country, 

 and comes back with the swallows. 

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