BLACK STORK. 531 
We soon found a very large “ horst” of a Goshawk. We tapped on the 
trunk of the oak in which it was, and shouted, but to no purpose. As the 
tree was easy to climb, Gottlieb got up to the nest, but found it empty. 
Before he had descended we found the nest of the Black Stork on a large 
oak not more than fifty yards from the other nest ; but there was no sign 
of a bird. Our guide assured us that it was occupied, so we concluded 
that the noise we had made at the Goshawk’s empty nest had frightened 
the bird away. The tree was an old oak at least five feet in diameter for 
some distance from the ground, and thirty feet without a branch. Gottlieb 
accordingly ascended a ‘tree close by to reconnoitre; and just as he got up 
it to the level of the nest, to our great astonishment off flew a Black Stork 
and began to wheel round and round in the air above the tree. She was 
soon joined by another, so Gottlieb descended and at once began to make 
preparations for the ascent. We had some difficulty in throwing the line 
over the lowermost branch, which was dead but very thick ; at last we 
succeeded, and having hauled up the rope-ladder, Gottlieb was soon on the 
branch. The distance to the next branch was too far to reach by sheer 
climbing, so the rope-ladder had to be got up another stage, and the nest 
was then soon reached. It was about fifty feet from the ground, on the 
fork of a large horizontal branch about halfway up the tree. It measured 
from five to six feet in diameter, and was in some places two feet high, 
and was composed of old dead twigs, bleached with many years’ exposure. 
The top of the nest was almost flat, covered over with a thick layer of 
green moss, and in a slight depression in the middle lay three young birds 
not long hatched and one egg already chipped. Both parent birds remained 
within sight whilst we were at the nest. 
Near the Lantow See in Pomerania I visited another nest of the Black 
Stork on the 30th of May in the same year, in the company of my friend 
Dr. Holland. It had not been occupied for the last year or two, and was 
built in a beech about thirty feet from the ground. It was very large and 
deep, but appeared flat at the top. The forester told us that for two 
successive years he had known of two nests of the Black Stork in one 
beech tree. In the afternoon we made a détour in the forest on our way 
to the station to visit another nest of this interesting bird. It was in a 
Scotch fir not more than forty feet from the ground, on the fork of a flat 
branch which grew out a few feet above the main fork of the tree. The 
old bird was standing on the nest, almost as motionless as if she was 
asleep, contemplating her four ‘‘ ugly ducklings,” and she did not seem at 
all alarmed at ‘our approach, and allowed us to examine her leisurely 
through our binoculars. The ground underneath the tree was covered 
with the droppings of the young. The nest was very large, at least four 
and a half feet across, and with scarcely any depression in the centre; 
the top was covered all over with green moss. As we stood looking at 
2M 2 
