riiK wiiiTK sroiiK. 481 



tion which seems so very eligible lo llie liirds, dial they rarely fail to construct their 

 capacious liabitation on such platforms. 



The nesl is a largo cylintlrical structure, huill very strono-ly and durably with sticks, 

 twigs, and strong reeds, and lined on the inside with tine dry herbs, mosses, and down 

 gathered from the bushes. These fabrics last many years, and io lh( in (he I'aitlitul pairs 

 annually direct their unerring course from far distant regions, lo deposit their eggs, and 

 to rear their young. 



There are several references in the Scriptures to the bird now under consideration. 

 Thus one of the inspired writers says, "As for the stork, the fir-tree is her house ;" and it 

 is stated by Doubdan, that the holds between Cana and Nazareth arc covered by numerous 

 flocks of them, each flock containing, according to his computation, more than a thousand. 

 In some parts the ground is entirely whitened by them ; and, on the wing, they darken 

 the air like a congeries of clouds. At the approach of evening they retire to roost in 

 the trees. 



Jeremiah, the prophet, alludes to the annual migration of the stork. lie speaks of it 

 as " in the heaven," expressing in this way the astonishing flight of this bird when 

 she starts for distant regions, and the amazing height to which she soars. lie says also, 

 that the stork " knoweth her appointed time." To this fact Shaw alludes, and states 

 that for about the space of a fortnight before these birds pass from one country to 

 another, they " constantly resort tc^ethor from all the circumjacent parts in a certain 

 plain ; and there forming themselves, once every day, into a doinrainu; or council, 

 according to the phrase of eastern nations, are said to determine the exact time of their 

 departure, and the place of their future abode." 



In Bagdad, and some other of the remote cities of Asiatic Turkey, the nests of storks 

 present a very remarkable appearance. The towers of the mosques at Constantinople, 

 and most otter parts of Turkey, are tall round pillars, surmounted by a very pointed 

 cone ; but at Bagdad the absence of this cone enables these birds to build their nests 

 upon the summit ; and as the diameter of the nest generally corresponds with (hat of the 

 tower,' it appears as a part of it, and a regular termination to it. The curious effect is 

 not a little increased bj- the appearance of the bird itself in the nest, which thus, as part 

 of the bod}' and its long neck arc seen above the edge, appears the crowning object of 

 the pillar. 



The Turks hold the bird in high esteem ; and the stork, in cities of mixed population, 

 rarely or never builds its nest on any other than a Turkish house. Thus, the Rev. 

 J. Hartley remarks : — " The Greeks have carried their antij)athy to the Turks to such a 

 pitch, that they have destroyed all the storks in the country. On inquiring the reason, 

 I was informed, ' The stork is a Turkish bird ; it never used to build its nest on the 

 house of a Greek, but always on that of a Turk.' The tenderness which the Turks 

 displaj' towards the feathered tribes is indeed a pleasing trait in their character." 



In all countries where it breeds, as in Holland and Germany, it is protected, boxes 

 being provided for these birds on the tops of the houses ; and in many continental 

 cities it is deemed a favourable omen for a man when a stork selects his roof as its 

 j)eriodical resting-place. Here it will remain for many successive years, the sagacious 

 tenants of the nest returning, from time to time, with unfailing precision. 



The eggs varj', being not less than two, and rarely exf!eediug four. The female covers 

 them with the most tender solicitude, and wiU. rather die than resign her charge. In 

 tlie battle of Friedland, a flirm near the city was set on fire by the falling of a bomb, and 

 tlie conflagration extended to an old dry tree, on which a pair of storks had b'_iilt their 

 nest. It was then the season of incubation, and the mother would not quit the nest 

 until it was completely enveloped in flames. She then flew up perpendicularly, and 

 when she had attained to a great height, dashed down into the midst of (lie fire, as if 



2 I 



