WHITE STORK. 
119 
pious bird, and was also an emblem on the medals of such 
Homan princes as merited’ the title of Pius. 
Some hen’s eggs were placed in a Stork’s nest, and the 
others removed. The female Stork, not aware of the change, 
sat patiently the appointed number of days, till the shells 
were broken, and the young chickens made their appearance. 
ISTo sooner were they seen by the old birds, than they testified 
their surprise by harsh notes and fierce looks, and after a 
short pause, they jointly fell upon the unfortunate chickens, 
and pecked them to pieces, as if conscious of the disgrace 
which might be supposed to attach to a dishonoured nest. 
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 astonishment of the Storks. In a short time 
the male 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. The female 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. 
The following, in many respects similar case, occurred on 
the estate of a gentleman of large landed property near Berlin, 
and is a valuable corroboration of what might, to many, 
appear unworthy of credit. A* pair of Storks built a nest 
on one of the chimneys of his mansion; having a curiosity 
to inspect it, the owner climbed up, and found in it one 
egg, which, being about the size of a Gfoose’s egg, was replaced 
by one belonging to that bird. The Storks seemed not to 
notice the exchange, but no sooner was the egg hatched, 
than the male bird perceiving the difference, rose from the 
nest, and flying round it several times with loud screams, 
disappeared, and was not seen again for three days, during 
which time the female continued to tend her offspring as 
usual. Early on the fourth morning, however, the inmates 
of the house were disturbed by loud and discordant cries 
in the field fronting the house, where they perceived about 
five hundred Storks assembled in a dense body, and one 
standing about twenty yards before the rest, apparently 
