180 ARDEID.E. 



and do this most frequently during the breeding-season, and 

 while they have young ones ; at other times it is seldom 

 heard. 



The specimen from which our drawing is made proves the 

 possibility of keeping the species in confinement for many 

 years. Success depends, however, on circumstances, in con- 

 sequence of the wilder nature of the bird. 



In a wild state the Black Stork feeds on fish and snakes, 

 frogs, mice, moles, beetles, grasshoppers, worms, and many other 

 insects ; small birds and young poultry, if opportunity 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. 



The Black Stork has not been known yet to breed in this 

 country, but it does so in several parts of the European Con- 

 tinent. When a pair of these birds make arrangements in a 

 woody district for building their nest, they choose for the pur- 

 pose a lofty tree that commands the view of the district, or one 

 that stands on the edge of a wood, from whence the surround- 

 ing country can be surveyed : in most instances an oak seems 

 to be preferred, and to it the same pair return annually, 

 unless some accident intervenes. The nest is placed on the 

 strongest horizontal branch in the top of the tree : the foun- 

 dation is made with sticks and large pieces of wood ; the next 

 layer is of smaller sticks ; and the inside is then plastered 

 with earth and clay, and finally lined with rushes, feathers, 

 hair, and all sorts of suitable refuse that can be found in the 

 fields. The nest is a very large structure, and remains in a 

 fit state for many years ; but, owing to the effects of wind 

 and weather, it has to be repaired and trimmed up every 

 spring. 



The number of eggs varies from two to four, and even 

 five. In a collection of eggs, those of the present species can 

 not be distinguished from those of the foregoing, in con- 



