520 
STORK. 
parts, and assemble in amazing numbers, making a 
frequent clattering with their bill, and trying their 
wings by several short flights : indeed the whole 
flock is in tumultuary commotion ; all seem eager 
to form acquaintance, and to consult on their pro- 
jected route. On the signal being given, they all 
of a sudden take flight, and rise with such swift- 
ness, that this vast body, which but a moment before 
completely covered the plain, is presently lost in the 
clouds. 
The white stork is about three feet and a half 
long, of which the bill measures seven inches ; the 
legs are eight inches, the naked part of the thighs 
five inches, and the wings, when extended, not less 
than six feet. The rest of the description is included 
in the specific character already given. 
In autumn the plains of Egypt are entirely co- 
vered with these birds. “ It is perfectly ascer- 
tained,” says Belon, ef that the storks winter in 
Egypt and in Africa ; for we have seen the plains 
of Egypt whitened by them in the months of Sep- 
tember and October. At that season, when the 
waters of the Nile have subsided, they obtain abun- 
dance of food ; but the excessive heats of summer 
drive them to more temperate climates.” The 
storks make their appearance in Germany about the 
eight or tenth of May, and are seen before that 
time in the provinces of France. Their return is 
always welcomed, as it announces spring. When 
they arrive they immediately seek out their old 
nests ; for the storks always settle in the same spots ; 
