A BRAVE BIRD. 
169 
injury, being fed by their stronger companions, Of the devotion of 
the parent Storks for their offspring, a touching instance is recorded 
by Hadrian Junius, in his ' History of Batavia.' In the year 1536, 
the town of Delft was half destroyed by fire, and when a female 
Stork, who had been absent some time in quest of food, returned to 
her nest, she found the house on which it was built in flames. At 
first, she endeavoured with all her powers to extricate her young ones 
from the impending destruction, but they w'ere unable to fly ; and 
finding all her efforts useless, she at last covered them with her body, 
and allowed herself to be consumed along with those she was power- 
less to save. Another anecdote respecting Storks and a conflagration 
is probably more apocryphal, although it is said to have occurred in 
1820, and is testified to by no less an authority than Okarius de 
Eudostadt, whoever that illustrious author may be. According to 
this gentleman, when the town of Kelbra, in Kussia, took fire, the 
Storks converted themselves into impromptu engines, and assisted to 
extinguish the flames : the precise way in which they set about it 
he has unfortunately neglected to record. 
The following more modern and less apocryphal instance 
of devotion and bravery on the part of this bird is extracted 
from the * Memoirs of the Baroness d'Oberkirch ' : — 
On the roof of the Cathedral, at Colmar, there had been placed 
a wheel, laid crosswise, as an inducement to the Storks to build 
their nests there. This is a custom throughout Alsace, it being 
a popular opinion in that part of the country that these birds are 
harbingers of good luck. The Storks had not failed to come, and 
from the window^s of our inn we saw the sombre profile of a parent 
bird standing out in strong relief against the evening sky, then red- 
dened by the setting sun. A brood of young Storks was grouped 
around the parent, that stood upright upon its gTcat claw-s. None in 
the nest slept; it was evident that they awaited an absent one, 
some straggler, perhaps, and from time to time we heard their wild 
and disagreeable cry. At length we perceived on the verge of the 
horizon, a Stork, with outspread wings, cleaving the air with arrowy 
swiftness, and closely pursued by a bird of prey of prodigious size, 
probably a vulture from the neighbouring mountains. The Stork 
was frightened, wounded, perhaps, and the cries of those in the nest 
responded to the parent's cry. We saw the poor frightened bird arrive 
straight over its nest, and fell there exhausted either by fatigue or 
pain. The other Stork then took her companion's place, and sprang 
towards the enemy. A fierce combat commenced; the two cham- 
pions rushed upon one another, uttering terrific cries. But the 
glorious instinct of paternity displayed itself with incredible strength 
and energy in the Stork. Whilst defending herself, or attacking her 
gigantic adversary, she never for an instant lost sight of her little 
ones that lay trembling and terrified in the nest beneath, but tried 
