sTdliKs. Gl 



The Storks, wliicli forru the next section of this order, include se\ eral 

 families represented by some remarkable forms. 



Family II. Kalv.niciimtid.i;. Shok-bii.led Storks. 



The Whale-headed Stork or Shoe-bill (Balicuiceps rc.r) (654) is ' Casy ;{•">. 

 certainly the most striking and extraordinary of all the Storks. It is 

 confined to the marsh-countries of the U[>i)er Nile, and thence ranges 

 southwards through the great system of lakes as far south as Nyasa. 

 Though it perches freely on trees, it places its nest in the reeds or high 

 grass immediately on the water's edge. Its principal food consists ot 

 fish and reptiles, and its strongly hooked bill is specially adapted to 

 seize and rip open turtles and the mailed fishes with which the water? 

 of Central Africa abound. 



Family III. ScoriD.i;. Hamimek-head Stokks. 



The Hammer-head (Scojjtis uinbrett(i) (655), as in the preceding in- Ca.-e 35. 

 stance, is tiic sole representative of a distinct family, which inhabits 

 Madagascar and a large part of the Ethiopian Kegion. It frequents 

 wooded districts, and is generally met with in pairs. The uesting 

 habits are rcmark;ible, for the birds build an enormous structure of 

 sticks lined with roots and clay, with an entrance in the side and 

 usually a flat top. This mass, sometimes amounting to quite !i cart- 

 load, is placed either on a tree or rock, and coutains from three to five 

 white eggs. 



Family \\ . Cico.mid.i;. Stouks. 



A number of genera are included in the true Storks. On the ground- i'a>ts 

 Hoor of the Case the visitor will find the ungainly and rather re[)ulsive- ■"'• "''J 

 looking Adjutant [Lejitoptiliis duhUfc) (656), with its l)are pinkish-red 

 head and neck w itli a pendulous pouch, -which can be inflated at will aud 

 is apparently merely ornaiueutal. This species and its two close allies 

 all possess the beautiful soft under tail-eoverts known as "Marabou" 

 feathers, which are in demand for purposes of millinery. In India this 

 bird is protected ou account of its utility as a scavenger, aud may often 

 be seen iu the streets of the towns, devouring carrion and fearless alike 

 of man and dog. 



The genus Ciconia is represented by the White Stork (C albio (657) 

 and the Black Stork (C. nigra) (658), both of which are occasioual 

 stragglers to Great Britain. As in their allies, the absence of the 

 so-called " intrinsic muscles " deprives them of voice, and the ouly 

 sound they can produce is a loud clatter made by beating the mandibles 

 rnpidly together. If flying, they hold the neck straight forward like 



