STORKS. 61 
The Storks, which form the next section of this order, include several 
families represented by some remarkable forms. 
Family I. Baranicreitipa. SHOE-BILLED STORKs. 
The Whale-headed Stork or Shoe-bill (Baleniceps rex) (654) is 
certainly the most striking and extraordinary of all the Storks. It is 
confined to the marsh-countries of the Upper Nile, and thence ranges 
southwards through the great system of lakes as far south as Nyasa. 
Though it perches freely on trees, it places its nest in the reeds or high 
grass immediately on the water’s edge. Its principal food consists of 
fish and reptiles, and its strongly hooked bill seems specially adapted 
to seize and rip open turtles and the mailed fishes with which the waters 
of Central Africa abound. 
Family III. Scoprp#. Hammer-nHeEap Srorks. 
The Hammer-head (Scopus umbretta) (655), as in the preceding 
instance, is the sole representative of a distinct family, which inhabits 
Madagascar and a large part of the Ethiopian Region. It frequents 
wooded districts, and is generally met with in pairs. The nesting- 
habits are remarkable, for the birds build an enormous structure of 
sticks lined with roots and clay, with an entrance in the side and 
usually a flat top. ‘This mass, sometimes amounting to quite a cart- 
load, is placed either on a tree or rock, and contains from three to five 
white eggs. 
Family IV. Cicontripm. Storks. 
A number of genera are included in the true Storks. On the ground- 
floor of the Case the visitor will find the ungainly and rather repulsive 
looking Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius) (656), with its bare pinkish-red 
head and neck and pendulous pouch, which can be inflated at will and 
is apparently merely ornamental. This species and its two close allies 
all possess the beautiful soft under tail-coverts known as “ Marabou” 
feathers, which are in demand for purposes of millinery. In India this 
bird is protected on account of its utility as a scavenger, and may often 
be seen in the streets of the towns, devouring carrion and fearless alike 
of man and dog. 
The genus Ciconia is represented by the White Stork (C. alba) (657) 
and the Black Stork (C. nigra) (658), both of which are occasional 
stragglers to Great Britain. As in their allies, the absence of the 
so-called “intrinsic muscles” deprives them of voice, and the only 
sound they can produce is a loud clatter made by beating the mandibles 
rapidly together, If flying, they hold the neck straight forward like 
[Case 35. ] 
| Case 36, | 
[Cases 
35, 36.] 
