68 THE STORK. 



in solitude, concealing itself among reeds in marshy places, where 

 it lives on frogs, insects, and vegetables. 



The bittern is of a pale yellow colodr, spotted and barred 

 with black. It lays seven or eight eggs of an ash-green colour, 

 and in three days after hatching leads its young ones out to their 

 food. The flesh of this bird is esteemed a great dainty. 



THE STORK 



Bears so great a resemblance to the crane, that it is no won- 

 der that one should often be mistaken for the other. Their 

 conformation, indeed, appears to be exactly the same; the dif- 

 ference consists in the colour, disposition, and habits. The 

 colours of the crane are cinerous and black, those of the stork 

 white and brown. The voice of the former is loud and piercing, 

 while the latter is always silent. The former prefers grain to 

 every other aliment ; the latter lives wholly on frogs, serpents, 

 small birds, and fish : and while the crane delights to conceal 

 itself far from the habitations of men, the stork generally fixes its 

 residence near the most populous places. 



Storks, like cranes, are migratory ; but, as they always travel 

 by night, their flight is concealed. When they leave Europe, 

 they all assemble on a certain day, and not one of the party is 

 ever left behind. They generally make their appearance in that 

 part of the globe about the middle of March, and build their 

 nests on the tops of chimney:?, or of high towers, pinnacles of 

 lofty buildings, and sometimes on the tops of high trees. The 

 stork lays from two to four eggs, resembling in colour and size 

 those of a goose. The time of incubation is one month ; and 

 after the exclusion of the young, the parent bird is extremely 

 solicitous for their safety, which, however, is seldom endangered, 

 being universally protected by popular prejudice, w T hich indeed 

 is seldom so well founded as in relation to this bird ; for as it 

 destroys great numbers of noxious reptiles, it is almost every 

 where held in esteem. Some nations have even carried their 

 regard to this beneficial bird to a superstitious veneration. 



The Egyptians in particular, whose regard for beneficial ani- 

 mals was carried to such excess, were so sensible of the services 

 rendered by the ibis, that they ranked it among their divinities. 

 This was a species of stork, which devoured in great num- 

 bers those noxious reptiles which the annual inundations of 

 the river, with the heat of the climate, abundantly produces in 

 tiiat country. The Dutch to this day are extremely solicitous 

 for the preservation of the stork, which takes refuge in their 

 towns, builds its nests on the tops of their houses, and even 

 rests familiarly in the streets, without molestation. Some 

 sssert that it is under the protection of the laws; whether 



