Papular CJictumarn of ftmmatrt 0aturr. 647 



enormous. The male and female perform 

 the office of incubation by turns, and feed 

 their young by casting up the provisions 

 which they have treasured up in their cupa- 

 cious crop. At first the young are served with 

 food considerably macerated ; but as they 

 grow older, the parents gradually diminish 

 the trouble of preparing it; and at length send 

 forth the young birds to provide for them- 

 selves. However, when they have plenty of 

 provisions, it is not uncommon to see young 

 ones almost fit for flight, and eggs hatching 

 at the same time in the identical nest. 



STOMAPODA. An order of the class 

 CriiJttdcea, all the species of which are ma- 

 rine, and the largest only found in tropical 

 climates. In many of the animals composing 

 this Order the feet approach the mouth. The 

 general form of the body bears considerable 

 resemblance to that of the Crayfish and its 

 allies ; the abdomen being much prolonged, 

 the tail-fin much expanded laterally, and 

 the appendages beneath the abd->men being 

 developed ami used as fin-feet. As they in- 

 habit the deep parts of the sea, their habits 

 are not well known, but they are supposed 

 to be voracious. [See SQUILLA, and OI-<M M 

 SHKI.MI'.] 



STOMATI A. A genus of Mollusca, the 

 shells of which arc auriform, but distin- 

 guished from Htdiotis by being destitute of 

 the series of holes ; mouth large, oblong, 

 interior pearly. They are found in the East 

 Indian seas, and in those of Australia. 



STONECIIAT. (Snricola rtMroln.) This 

 bird, which t>elongs to the same family as the 

 Robin Red -breast, is nearly five inches in 

 length ; and is chiefly found on wild heaths 

 and commons, where it feeds on small worms 

 and all kinds of insects. The bill is black ; the 

 head, neck, and throat black, faintly mixed 

 with brown; on each side of the neck, imme- 

 diately above the wings, there is a large white 

 spot ; the hack and wing-coverts are of a fine 

 velvet black, edged with brown ; the quills 

 next the body are white at the bottom, form- 

 ing a : spot of that colour on the wings ; the 

 breast is a bright bay : the rump white ; tail 

 and legs black. This solitary bird builds at the 

 roots of bushes, or underneath stones, care- 

 fully concealing the entrance of the nest, 

 and using a variety of arts to prevent any 

 one from tracing it to its retreat. It is al- 

 most continually on the wing, flying from 

 bush to bush, and resting but for a few 

 seconds at a time. The sound of its note has 

 been thought to resemble the clicking of two 

 stones together, which circumstance has been 

 given as the origin of its name. 



STONE CURLEW. ((Erftcnemtu erept- 

 tans.) This bird is also called the Whistling 

 or Norfolk Plover, and belongs to the order 

 Grallatores. It is larger than the Woodcock, 

 the expansion of the wings being three feet. 

 It has a straight bill, two inches long, black 

 towards the base, and yellow at the tip. 

 Under each of the eyes there is a bare space, 

 of a yellowish green : the breast and thighs 

 are a yellowish white ; the middle of the 

 back, the head, and the neck are black, 

 edged with a reddish ash-colour ; on the 



quill-feathers there are transverse white 

 spots ; and some of the wing-feathers, which 

 are tipped with white, appear beautifully 

 mottled. The tail is about six inches long, 

 and variegated like the wings ; the legs are 

 long and yellowish ; the claws small and 

 black. This bird has no hind toe. and those 

 before are united by a small membrane. It 

 is a native of several English counties, par- 

 ticularly Norfolk. It is rapid on foot, and 

 powerful in flight, which it executes in wide 

 circles ; and it is remarkable for its piercing 

 shrill note, which it sends forth in the even- 

 ing. It lays two eggs of a dirty white, marked 

 with spots and streaks of a deep reddish 

 colour ; feeds on slugs, worms, and cater- 

 pillars ; and its flesh, when young, is con- 

 sidered delicious. 



White of Selbome observes in a letter to 

 Pennant, " I wonder that the Stone Curlew, 

 Charadrius CEdicnemtis, should be mentioned 

 by writers as a rare kind : it abounds in all 

 the campaign parts of Hampshire and Sussex, 

 and breeds, I think, all the summer, having 

 young ones, I know, very late in the autumn. 

 Already (March ).)they begin damouring 

 in the evening. They cannot, I think, with 

 any propriety, be called, as they are by Mr. 

 Ray, circa aquas Versailles ; ' for with us, 

 by day at least, they haunt only the most 

 dry, open, upland fields and sheep-walks, 

 far removed from water : what they may do 

 in the night I cannot say. Worms are their 

 usual food, but they also eat toads and frogs. 

 It lays its eggs, usually two, never more 

 than three, on the bare ground, without any 

 nest, in the field ; so that the countryman, 

 in stirring his fallows, often destroys'them. 

 The young run immediately from the egg, 

 like partridges, Sec., and are withdrawn to 

 some flinty field by the dam, where they 

 skulk among the stones, which are their best 

 security ; for their feathers are so exacdy of 

 the colour of our gray-spotted flints, that the 

 most exact observer, unless he catches the eye 

 of the young bird, may be eluded. . . . CEd'ic- 

 ncmus is a most apt and expressive name for 

 them, since their legs seem swollen like those 

 of a gouty man. After harvest I have shot 

 them before the pointers in turnip-fields." 

 This bird appears to be pretty generally dis- 

 tributed throughout Europe ; in the south of 

 France and in Italy it is abundant : and in 

 many parts, as in Britain and Germany, 

 it is migratory ; but it is seldom met with 

 in the northern counties of England, and 

 scarcely ever in Scotland. 



STORK. (Cicania.) A genus of 'large 

 Grallatorial birds. In most countries Storks 

 are held in great esteem by the inhabit- 

 ants, as they tend to prevent the increase 

 of noxious vermin by destroying great 

 numbers, all the species being extremely 

 voracious. They reside in marshy places, 

 where their chief food (reptiles, worms, and 

 insects) is found ; and they migrate in large 

 flocks to immense distances, returning regu- 

 larly to their former habitations. They have 

 no voice, but produce a clattering with their 

 bills, by striking the mandibles together. 

 Among the ancients, to kill them was con- 

 sidered a crime, which, in some places, was 



