BIRDS. 371 



and the quagmire, it continues to this day the emblem of 

 desolation and solitude, as it was at the time when the 

 Prophet proclaimed against Babylon the awful denunciation: 

 "I will also make it a possession for the Bittern, and pools 

 of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, 

 saith the LORD of hosts." 



The Stork (Ciconea alba) is another member of the same 

 family that must not be passed by without mention. Those 

 who have travelled in Holland and other parts of the continent, 

 know the favourable light 

 in which it is regarded, and 

 the arrangements made for 

 its accommodation and pro- 

 tection. The affection of 

 the Stork for its young, is 

 one of the most remarkable 

 traits in its character; it is 

 only needful to refer to the 

 female, which at the con- 

 flagration of Delft, after 

 several unavailing attempts 

 to remove her young, chose 

 to remain and perish with 

 them, rather than leave 

 them to their fate. Among 



the ancient Egyptians the Stork was regarded with reverence 

 inferior only to that which was paid to the Sacred Ibis 

 (Fig. 278).* The Ibis itself is a member of the present 

 family; one species, the Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcinellus), has 

 been taken both in England and Ireland. 



Scolopacidce. This family comprises the Curlews, Sand- 

 pipers, Snipes, and other well known birds. It may be 

 well represented by the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), 

 a migratory species, ranging from Africa to Scandinavia. 

 It flies by night, and seems in these countries to feed 

 principally on the common Earthworm. The fact is now 

 established, that all the Woodcocks do not leave these 

 islands, but that a small though gradually increasing 

 number are permanently resident, and regularly lay their 

 eggs and bring forth their young. This is mainly attri- 



Vide Bennett's Gardens and Menageries, p. 20. 



