THE STORK. 327 
from two to four eggs, their fecundity increasing in an inverse ratio 
to their size. The duration of their life is from fifteen to twenty years. 
There are several species of Storks, the most important being 
the White Stork (Czconia alba, Fig. 128). It measures about forty 
inches in height; length to end of tail, forty-two inches; wings, 
extended, seventy-six inches; its plumage is white; the wings are 
fringed with black. This is 
the species best known in 
Europe. Holland and Ger- 
many are its favourite resi- 
dences; and Alsace is the 
part of France in which they 
are most frequently met with. 
It is so rarely seen in Eng- 
Jand that there it has become 
almost a matter of legend. It 
is very common in the warm 
and temperate parts of Asia. 
In the month of August it 
leaves Europe to visit Africa, 
from whence it returns in the 
following spring. This migra- 
tion is not caused by tempera- 
ture, as the Stork can bear 
severe cold. No, it is a mere 
question of sustenance; for,  \\ 
feeding as it does principally \\= 
upon reptiles which remain in *\ a 
a complete state of torpor ns 
during our winters, it is natu- 
rally compelled to seek its 
food elsewhere. 
The Stork is of a mild nature, and is easily tamed. As it destroys 
a host of noxious creatures, it has become a useful helper to man, 
who, not ungrateful, gives it succour and protection. In ancient Egypt 
il was venerated on the same score as the Ibis; in Thessaly there 
was a law which condemned to death any one killing these birds. 
Even at the present day the Germans and Dutch esteem it a fortunate 
omen when a Stork selects their house for its home, and they even 
furnish it with inducements to do so by placing on their roofs a box 
or wheel, which forms a foundation for the bird to build a nest, which 
it constructs of reeds, grass, and feathers. 
Fig. 128.—White Stork. 
