THE STOKK. 
97 
hardly be said of them at present, notwithstanding a solitary 
instance or two of their having been shot there. In America 
there are egrets found of a reddish, and some of a black co- 
l°ur ; but they differ in no other respect from the European. 
Storks are birds of passage, like the crane ; but it is hard 
to say whence they come or whither they go. When they 
withdraw from Europe, they all assemble on a particular 
day, and never leave one of their company behind them. 
They take their flight in the night ; which is the reason the 
Way they go has never been observed. They generally 
feturn into Europe in the middle of March, and make their 
r ‘ests on the tops of chimneys and houses as well as of high 
trees. The females lay from two to four eggs, the size 
and colour of those of geese. They are-u mouth in ha tch- 
ing ; and when their young are excluded, they are particu- 
‘arly solicitous for their safety. 
The Common Stork is quite white, except the greater 
Wing coverts and the quills. The American Stork nearly 
answers to the same description ; but in the northern 
countries of Europe there are Black Storks, so called from 
the general appearance of their plumage ; they are, how- 
eVer , by no means so numerous as the white. 
As the food of these birds consists in a great measure of 
‘ r °gs and serpents, it is not to be wondered at that different 
nations have paid them a particular veneration. The Dutch 
a re very solicitous for the preservation of the stork in every 
P a, 't of their republic. This bird seems to have taken 
refuge among their towns ; and builds on the tops of their 
'°uses without any molestation. There it is seen resting 
Arniliarly in their streets, and protected as well by the laws 
as the prejudices of the people. 
Many foreign birds of this genus are of extraordinary 
.^uty, size, and singularity; among these the Crowned 
, ( ’ro», or Balearic Crane, for a long time continued un- 
Kn°w n , till we became acquainted with the birds of tropical 
f "nates, when one of the crane kind with a topping was 
Pl? u ght into Europe, and described by Aldrovandus as 
V'ly’s balearic crane. It is pretty nearly of the shape and 
ij? e of the ordinary crane, with long legs and a long neck, 
f ke others of the kind ; but the bill is shorter, and the colour 
die feathers of a dark greenish grey. The head and throat 
l| J1 ' rt ‘ the most striking part of this bird’s figure. On the 
' s seen standing up a thick round crest, made of bristles, 
jji? a ding every way, and resembling rays standing out in 
•I er ® n t directions. The longest of these rays are about 
l p r e inches and a half : and they are all topped with a kind 
V «n. II. N 
