ARDEID^E. 363 



longitudinal flight so much to the west." Colonel 

 Montagu, writing again in April of the next year, 

 says, " The Stork is so much changed in plumage 

 that it would scarcely be known : it now better 

 accords with the Black Stork than heretofore, for at 

 a distance the whole upper parts appear black, but 

 on a nearer view are found to be a dark glossy green, 

 except the upper part of the back, which has a re- 

 splendence of purple, each feather margined with 

 dark green." It does not appear how long the Stork 

 lived, but, like other pets, it died at last: it was 

 stuffed, and is now in the Collection of British Birds 

 in the British Museum. 



Since the capture of the bird above mentioned 

 others of the same species have from time to time 

 been taken in various parts of England, and two in 

 the neighbouring counties of Devon and Dorset. 



The food of the Black Stork consists mostly of 

 fish, which was the favourite food of Montagu's pet, 

 although it would eat flesh, and when very hungry 

 any sort of offal was acceptable. In a wild state its 

 food appears to be more varied, " fish, snakes, frogs, 

 mice, moles, worms, beetles, grasshoppers and many 

 other insects, small birds and young poultry if op- 

 portunity offers. It goes constantly in pursuit of the 

 unfledged young of water and land birds that are to 

 be found on the ground or near the water." * As may 



* Meyer's ' British Birds,' vol. iv., p. 180. 



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