496 ARDEIDE. 



its lurking place. But the Stork does not gorge its prey 

 instantly like the Cormorant ; on the contrary, it retires to 

 the margin of the pool, and there disables its prey by shaking 

 and beating with its bill, before it ventures to swallow it. I 

 never observed this bird attempt to swim ; but it will wade 

 up to the belly, and occasionally thrust the whole head and 

 neck under water after its prey. It prefers an elevated spot 

 on which to repose : an old ivy-bound weeping-willow, that 

 lies prostrate over the pond, is usually resorted to for that 

 purpose. In this quiescent state the neck is much shortened 

 by resting the hinder part of the head on the back ; and the 

 bill rests on the fore part of the neck, over which the feathers 

 flow partly so as to conceal it, making a very singular ap- 

 pearance. 



The Black Stork, perhaps, is not more delicate in the 

 choice of its food than the White species : fish appears to be 

 preferred to flesh ; but when very hungry any sort of ofFal is 

 acceptable. 



All birds that pursue their migrative course by night in 

 congregation, have undoubtedly some cry by which the whole 

 assembly is kept together : yet it would appear that at other 

 times the Black Stork is extremely mute ; not a single note 

 has been heard to issue from the bird in question since its 

 captivity. 



Colonel Montagu's specimen is still preserved, with his 

 other British Birds, in the British Museum. 



Like the species last described, the Black Stork is also a 

 migratory bird, passing the winter in the southern parts of 

 Europe. In the spring it advances to high northern latitudes 

 to pass the summer, occasionally visiting Sweden : M. Nils- 

 son of Lund, naming several localities in which it had been 

 seen, and particularly describing one bird that came under his 

 examination in the month of August. Pennant, in his 

 Arctic Zoology, quoting Linnaeus, says that this bird goes to 



