ARDEIM;. 167 



summit of almost every pillar of these magnificent monu- 

 ments of antiquity contains a Stork's nest. " Where conve- 

 nient buildings are not to be found, the Stork will construct 

 its nest on trees. The nest is made of sticks and twigs, and 

 is a solid, compact mass, lasting for many years ; it is lined 

 with reeds, grasses, and moss. The eggs are three or four 

 in number, rarely, if ever, five ; and at first, before they are 

 soiled, are of a creamy-white colour, and in size approaching 

 to, or equalling, those of the goose." 



THE BLACK STORK. Ciconia nigra. Though it has been 

 sometimes met with in our island, this is a foreign species, 

 to be found thinly distributed through most of the Euro- 

 pean countries. It differs in its breeding habits from the 

 White Stork, in selecting retired situations, far from the 

 haunts of men, for that purpose, and in forests intersected 

 by streams, or interspersed with marshy districts, and upon 

 the tops of lofty trees, especially the pine ; it forms its nest 

 of sticks arid sods of earth, lined with finer sticks and va- 

 rious softer materials. The eggs are from two to four or 

 five in number, and closely resemble those of the last spe- 

 cies, except that they are less. 



THE WHITE OR EUROPEAN SPOONBILL. Platalea leu- 

 corodia. As a group, the Spoonbills are described to be 



