138 
THE STORK. 
however, by the following, that the expected conse- 
quences of such a discovery might well account for 
the horror and indignation manifested by the won- 
dering parents. 
A French surgeon, at Smyrna, wishing to procure a 
Stork, and finding great difficulty on account of the 
extreme veneration in which they are held by the 
Turks, stole all the eggs out of a nest, and replaced 
them with those of a hen : in process of time the 
young chickens came forth, much to the atonishment 
of Mr. and Mrs. Stork. In a short time Mr. S. went 
off, and was not seen for two or three days, when he 
returned with an immense crowd of his companions, 
who all assembled in the place, and formed a circle, 
taking no notice of the numerous spectators, which 
so unusual an occurrence had collected. Mrs. Stork 
was brought forward into the midst of the circle, 
and after some consultation, the whole flock fell 
upon her, and tore her to pieces ; after which they 
immediately dispersed, and the nest was entirely 
abandoned. 
We suspect that constancy and fidelity amongst 
birds exists to a greater degree than we are aware 
of ; — whatever testimony can be collected on the 
subject, certainly tends to prove it. Thus, a pair 
of Magpies had built their nest in a tree, where 
they were constantly under the observation of a 
person whose house was near at hand. One morn- 
ing early, during the absence of the male, the female 
flew from her tree to a field hard by, where she was 
soon joined by a male, who paid her great attention. 
During this interview the mate returned to the nest, 
and on seeing his partner hopping about familiarly 
