GRALLATORES. 399 



spawn, as well as on fishes. Wherever found, the Storks are a 

 privileged race, on account of the havoc which they make among 

 noxious animals. They migrate in numerous flocks, and are 

 easily tamed. All the species make a clattering noise with 

 their bills. 



The COMMON WHITE STORK, C. alba, (see Chart,) is about 

 three feet in length ; when well treated, it approaches, without 

 fear, the habitations of men. In the towns of Continental Eu 

 rope, domesticated Storks, taken when young, &quot;may often be ,- 

 seen paddling about the markets, where they are kept as scaven 

 gers to clear the place of the entrails of fish and other offal, 

 t which they do to the satisfaction of their employers.&quot; In Hol 

 land, and especially in Germany, this bird is a welcome guest. 

 Dr. Shaw witnessed the annual migration of flocks of these birds 

 from Mount Carmel ; each flock that he saw, &quot; was half a mile 

 in breadth, and occupied three hours in passing over.&quot; 



Among the ancients, to kill a Stork, was regarded a crime, 

 which, in some places, was punished with death; and, like the 

 Ibis, this bird became an object of adoration. It is noted for its 

 great affection for its young, but more particularly, for its care 

 of its parents in old age. 



The BLACK STORK, C. nigra, or A. nigra, is, like the White 

 Stork, a migratory bird, spending the winter in Southern Europe, 

 and passing on to high northern latitudes in summer. 



The ADJUTANT, Leptoptilus, (Gr. leptos, thin ; ptilos, down, 

 or plumage,) Arga/a, is a remarkable bird, native to the warmer 

 parts of India, and highly useful there in devouring noxious ani 

 mals and carrion, which it does with avidity. It stands from 

 five to seven, feet in height, and measures from the tip of the 

 bill to the claws, seven and a half, while the expanse of wings is 

 not less than fourteen feet. The beak is extremely large, stout, 

 and strong ; under it hangs a downy pouch, or bag, like a dew 

 lap, which is capable of being inflated. The upper part of this 

 bird is of an ashy-gray color ; the under part white. The vora 

 city of the Adjutant is not more extraordinary than its capacity 

 for swallowing; it makes but one mouthful of a rabbit, a fowl, 

 or even a small leg of mutton, and when domesticated, its habit 

 of purloining, makes it necessary to keep all kinds of provisions 

 out of its reach. Dr. Latham says, &quot;These birds, in their wild 

 state, live in companies ; and when seen at a distance, near the 

 mouths of rivers, coming towards an observer, which they often 

 do with their wings outspread, may well be taken for canoes 

 upon the surface of a smooth sea ; when on the sand-banks, for 



17 



