326 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
base, pointed, and sharp-edged; legs long and slender ; tibia bare 
for half its length; tarsi long, compressed, reticulated ; hind toe 
short, slightly elevated, and inserted rather high, but resting upon 
the ground ; the tail is short. They are found in nearly all parts of 
the world. Some species migrate with regularity, being admirably 
constructed for travelling long distances; for, although their bulk 
seems great, their weight is comparatively small, as most of their 
Fig. 127.—Common White Spoonbill. 
bones are hollow. In their migratory journeys, which occur princi- 
pally by night, they fly in continuous or angular lines. 
Storks prefer moist swampy localities, as they feed principally on 
reptiles, batrachians, and fishes ; but small birds and mammalia, mol- 
luscs, worms, insects, even bees are not refused by them, or carrion, 
and other impurities. Their manner is slow and grave ; they never 
appear in a hurry. On the wing they resemble crosses, from their 
manner of carrying the head and neck. They have no voice, 
and the only noise they make is a cracking, which results from one 
mandible striking against the other, and which expresses either 
anger or love; it is sometimes very loud, and, under favourable 
circumstances, may be heard as much as a league away. They lay 
