STONE-CURLE W—STORK 919 
STONE-CURLEW, (dicnemus scolopax or crepitans (CURLEW, 
p. 129); STONEHATCH, a name for the Ringed Plover, Agialitis 
hiaticola, given to it in places where, breeding on the turf, it paves 
the hollow it makes for its nest with small stones before laying its 
eggs (cf. Salmon, Mag. N. H. ix. p. 521, Stevenson, B. Norf. 11. p. 
85); STONERUNNER, another name for the same bird, but given 
to it at its seaside resorts. 
STORK (A.-S. Store; Germ. Storch), the Ciconia alba of ornith- 
ology, and, through picture and story, one of the best known of 
foreign birds ; for, though often visiting Britain, it has never been 
a native or even inhabitant of the country. It is a summer-visitant 
to most parts of the European Continent,—the chief exceptions 
being France (where the native race has been destroyed), Italy and 
Russia,—breeding from southern Sweden to Spain and Greece, and 
being especially common in Poland.! It reappears again in Asia 
Minor, the Caucasus, Persia and Turkestan, but further to the 
eastward it is replaced by a larger, black-billed species, C. boyciana, 
which reaches Japan. ‘Though occasionally using trees (as was 
most likely its original habit) for the purpose, the Stork most 
generally places its nest on buildings,? a fact familiar to travellers 
in Denmark, Holland and Germany, and it is nearly everywhere a 
cherished guest, popular belief ascribing good luck to the house to 
which it attaches itself. Its food, consisting mainly of frogs and 
insects, is gathered in the neighbouring pastures, across which it 
may be seen stalking with an air of quiet dignity ; but in the 
season of love it indulges in gestures which can only be called 
grotesque,—leaping from the ground with extended wings in a kind 
of dance, and, absolutely voiceless as it is, making a loud noise by 
the clattering of its mandibles. At other times it may be seen 
gravely resting on one leg on an elevated place, thence to sweep 
aloft and circle with a slow and majestic flight. Apart from its 
considerable size,—and a Stork stands more than three feet in 
height, —its contrasted plumage of pure white and deep black, with 
its bright red bill and legs, makes it a conspicuous and beautiful 
object, especially when seen against the fresh green grass of a 
luxuriant meadow. In winter the Storks of Europe retire to 
1 In that country its numbers are said to have greatly diminished since about 
1858, when a disastrous spring-storm overtook the homeward-bound birds. The 
like is to be said of Holland since about 1860. 
2 To consult its convenience a stage of some kind, often a cart-wheel, is in 
many places set up and generally occupied by successive generations of tenants. 
3 Its common Dutch name is Ootjevaar, which can be traced through many 
forms (Koolmann, Wérterb. d. Ostfries. Sprache, i. p. 8 swb voce * Adebar”) to the 
old word Odeboro (‘the bringer of good”). In countries where the Stork is 
abundant it enters largely into popular tales, songs and proverbs, and from the 
days of Alsop has been a favourite in fable. 
