13 



duals of the species when the Mauritius and Isle of Bourbon 

 ■were first discovered, named it " Dodaers," and also 

 " Walch Vogel," " Disf^usting Bird," a suggestive, per- 

 haps, but not very hopeful title. But to return to the 

 Stork. This somewhat celebrated bird may be said not only 

 to possess an European, but a classical fame, to say nothing 

 of the singular reputatiim it has had for its piety and morals. 

 The Stork, family " Grallo?," and genus " Liconia" of 

 Cuvier, is the " Ardea" of LinnaBUs, and is described by 

 Buffon as consisting of two species— the white and the 

 black stork. The latter is the rarer bird ; its habits are 

 comparatively unsocial ; it resorts to secluded places and 

 to the depths of woods. It is smaller than the Ciconia 

 Alba. There is a tolerable specimen of it in the Canter- 

 bury Museum. It is for the most part black, reflecting 

 shades of orange, green, and dark blue. The feet of both 

 species are semi-webbed. 



The Ciconia Alba, whose beak and legs are a crimson red, 

 is of a snowy whiteness, with the exception of its wings and 

 some part of its head and thighs, which are of a glossy 

 black. In the young birds these parts are tinged with 

 brown. It sits for thirty days, and lays from two to four 

 eggs. The wings when flying exhibit a rather singular 

 arrangement, the large quill feathers folding into a sort of 

 double scalloping. The Storks of Europe migrate about 

 the middle of August and return in the spring. 



As a bird the Stork has generally gained respect in all 

 the countries it has inhabited. In Egypt it is held in 

 veneration, second only to the sacred ibis. In ancient 

 Thessaly, it was death to kill a Stork. The white Stork 

 seems to invite the confidence of man ; she builds in the 

 midst of populous cities, she chooses the most noted and 

 celebrated buildings, she hai as much veneration for an 

 old minster as an antiquary, and for a battleraented castle, 

 as a feudal baron. She is a sort of swallow on a gigantic 

 scale, and sheds a glamour around her of respect and for- 



