60 
THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
Translated for the OREGON NATURALIST, from 
die Gartenlaube. 
THE WHITE STORK, 
BY A, AND K. MULLER. 
The first glow of spring warms every heart 
when the first word is passed through village or 
town. ‘‘Our stork has come back.” All eyes 
are turned toward the nest, the old stork nest 
known to every-body, and see, there stands the 
long legged stilt-bird on the edge of the cradle 
where last year he reared his young, and where, 
perhaps, he first saw the light of the world 
many years ago. His better half still dallies 
on the road, loth to leave the more hospitable 
country where food is still abundant, The 
male has come on ahead, aud examines the old 
nesting place, visits the well known places in 
the surrounding meadows and plains, and lives 
like a bachelor in his usual home, until one day 
the observer suddenly misses him. A few days 
pass and then the pair appear, coming from a 
lofty height, circling lower and closer to their 
home, narrowing their circles more and more 
until at length they settle down upon the nest. 
A glad rattling of beaks proclaims the arri- 
val of the faithful pair. When they stand 
quietly upon a lofty tower, on the house, or 
the pruned eim tree there is nothing grave, 
proud or dignified in thair hearing, they rath- 
er appear clumsy, with all their length of limb. 
How different they appear when they settle 
down in the grass and about with 
measured steps, peering in all directions in 
search of prey, and keeping a sharp lookout 
for their own safety in spite of the consideration 
with which they are treated. 
strut 
Then it is that 
Walking 
up and down the stork examines his stu round- 
ings criticaily. 
they are really grave and dignified, 
The slightest motion of any- 
thing eatable is at once detected by his sharp 
senses, rendered doubly keen by inate greed- 
iness. [Ie holds his we pon always ready for 
striking, the long sharp beak drives downwaril 
like an arrow, and pierces with unerring aim 
the scurrying mouse. the toiling mole, the 
whirring beetle and the squirming lizard. With 
the mole or rodent he frequently catches a 
whole bunch of moss, grass or twigs, and he 
either devours his booty on the spot or carries 
itto his mate or to his little ones in the nest. 
When beginning a flight he hops along, flap- 
ping his wings and then Jeaving the ground and 
struggling upward with apparent awkwardness. 
He is equally awkward in alighting when his 
destination is reached. He never approaches 
the spot where he is to alight from below or in 
a horizontal line, but always from above letting 
himself down carefully with his stilt legs out- 
stretched. Whenever he discovers a good feed- 
ing place he comes back again until the food 
supply is exhausted. His memory for places 
does him good service, as when, for example, 
he discovers a litter of young hares he knows 
well where to return for them and carries them 
away, one atatime. He is not content with 
inerely robbing to supply his family and to sat- 
isfy his hunger, for he is murderous and blood- 
Beside a brook 
which emptied into a pond we found, early in 
thirsty as well as greedy. 
the season, dozens of freshly killed toads every 
one of which had had its body ripped open by 
the stork, although not a particle of any of them 
had been eaten. Other traits in the character 
of the stork are ill-nature and jealousy. When 
young storks in the spring revisit the nests in 
which they were hatched or when strangers 
attempt to settle in the nest a violent fight 
takes place, in which the male and female 
unite in defending their nest and succeed in 
murdering or terribly mutilating the intruder 
even though it may have been one of their own 
brood of the previous year. When the stork is 
domesticated he displays similar traits among 
the poultry of the barnyard. Wesaw one in 
a large courtyard strutting grandly around, 
marching around the chickens and ducks in 
smaller and smaller circles while they stupidly 
submitted to being driven and huddled up to- 
Nothing but 
domineering arrogance prompted the stork to 
gether in the middle of the yard. 
do this ,for he ended the performance every 
time with a vicious charge which drove the 
frightened fowls cackling and quacking in all 
