WHITE STORK. 483 



Length to end of tail 42 inches ; extent of wings 76 ; 

 bill along the ridge 7^, along the edge of lower mandible 9, 

 its height 1-f^ ; wing from flexure 25 ; tail t ; bare part of 

 tibia 4f ; tarsus 8-^ ; hind toe 1 , its claw -^ ; second toe 

 2^, its claw -^ ; third toe 3, its claw -^ ; fourth toe 2^, 

 its claw -fe. 



Female. — The female is similar to the male. 



Habits. — It is not in Britain that the habits of the 

 White Stork can be studied, its occurrence there being, in 

 so far as is known, limited to a very few instances. I must 

 therefore refer to the continental writers for the following 

 particulars : — In the temperate parts of Europe the Storks 

 arrive toward the end of spring, and depart in October, 

 travelling in large flocks, and betaking themselves to Africa 

 and Asia. In winter they are especially abundant in Egypt. 

 Their northward migration extends as far as the Baltic, 

 occasionally beyond it ; yet in Britain their appearance is 

 irregular and accidental. 



In most countries, being unmolested on account of their 

 usefulness in destroying reptiles, they are quite fearless of 

 man, frequently residing in the towns, and nestling on 

 chimneys and other elevated parts of buildings. The nest 

 is flat, composed externally of sticks and twigs, internally of 

 straws and dry herbage. The eggs, three or four in number, 

 are of a yellowish-white colour, two inches and three-fourths 

 in length, two inches in breadth. Incubation continues 

 thirty days, the male occasionally assisting. The young are 

 at first covered with brownish down, and remain in the nest 

 till the end of summer. Their parents accompany them in 

 their first attempts at flying ; and from this circumstance, 

 and their assiduity in procuring food, as well as other indi- 

 cations of affection for their offspring and for each other, 

 these birds have generally been considered as patterns of 

 conjugal fidelity and fraternal love. In these respects the 

 Storks are probably not superior to many other birds, 

 although from their great size, confidence in man, and re- 

 markable habits, they attract more notice in places where 



