350 



Birds. 



THE STOKK. (Ciconia alba.) 



THE neck, head, breast, and body of this bird are white, 

 the rump and exterior feathers of the wings black ; the 

 eyelids naked ; the tail white, and the legs long, slen- 

 der, and of a red colour. Storks are birds of passage. 

 When leaving Europe they assemble together on some 

 particular night, and all take their flight at once. As 

 they feed on frogs, lizards, serpents, and other noxious 

 creatures, it is not to be expected that man should be 

 inimical to them, and therefore they have been generally 

 a favourite with the nations they visit. The Dutch 

 have laws against destroying them : they are therefore 

 very common in Holland, and build their nests and rear 

 their young on the tops of houses and chimneys in the 



