STORKS. 



357 



fishes, reptiles, small quadrupeds, and young birds, and some- 

 times search on open dry plains, or on cultivated ground, for 

 grasshoppers and other insects. Their nest, composed of sticks 

 and twigs, is placed on buildings or on the decayed stump of a 

 tree. The female lays from three to five eggs. 



Fig. iSo.— The White Stork {Ckonia alba). 



The typical species — 



The White Stork {Ciconia alba), is a well-known European bird, but is 

 seldom seen in Britain. It is migratory, passmg the summer in temperate or 

 cold latitudes, but retiring during the winter to the banks of the Nile and the 

 African swamps. It is a large and handsome species, measuring about three 

 feet and a half in length, and is of a white colour, with the extremities of its 

 wings black. The stork frequents marshes and the banks of rivers, devouring 

 indiscriminately any aquatic animals that may come in its way, and not even 

 sparing the young water-fowl ; it also feeds freely on oftal or carrion, and for 

 this reason in many places its visits are regarded with great favour ; and it 

 may be seen, even in the crowded streets of large towns, stalking about with 

 perfect confidence. On the continent of Europe, indeed, the stork is a wel- 

 come visitor everywhere ; and the peasants, so far from wilfully injuring it, 

 protect it to the utmost of their power. This kindly feeling is carried to such 

 a length as not only to subject a person ill using it to unpleasant remarks but 

 to actual danger ; in some parts, indeed, it is looked upon as a sort of sin \.o 

 molest it. In consequence of being thus favoured, the stork becomes cxceea- 

 ingly tame, and will hardly get out of the way of the passer-by. It frequently 

 makes its nest in the wilds of the forest, or, in the manner of the magpie, in 



