120 
WHITE STOEK. 
haranguing its companions, who stood listening, to all ap¬ 
pearance, with great emotion. When this bird had concluded, 
it retired and another took its place, and seemed to address 
them in a similar manner. This proceeding and noise was 
repeated by several successive birds, until about eleven o’clock 
in the forenoon, when the whole flock simultaneously arose 
in the air, uttering dismal cries. 
The female all this time was observed to remain on her 
nest, watching their motions with apparent trepidation. In 
a short time the body of Storks made towards her, headed 
by one bird, supposed to be the male, who struck her 
vehemently three or four times, and knocked her out of the 
nest; the whole mass then followed the attack, until they 
had not only destroyed the female Stork, (who made no 
attempt to escape or defend herself,) but the young Gosling, 
and utterly removed every vestige of the nest itself. Since 
that time, about five years ago, no Stork has been known to 
build, or ever been seen in that neighbourhood. 
The person who stated this singular anecdote was a gentleman 
of undoubted veracity, who had been visiting at the house 
and seen the preserved remains of the Stork and dead Gosling. 
It may be added, that in the part of Germany where this 
occurrence took place, there is a superstition prevalent that 
a Stork never builds on a bad man’s house, and to such 
an extent is this notion carried, that if a man were sus¬ 
pected, even of murder, the people could scarcely be induced 
to bring him before the magistrates, if a Stork was known 
to build on his house. This is mentioned as one amongst 
other reasons why the gentleman permitted such, in some 
respects, troublesome birds to build on his chimney-top 
unmolested.’ 
The Stork, in the attitude of repose, always stands on one 
leg, with the neck bent, and the bill resting on the breast. 
They feed on almost anything—small animals, young birds, 
water insects, reptiles, fishes, and worms. If they can, they 
wash the food they take from the ground, in water, before 
swallowing it. They may be seen stalking about in the 
fields, or standing on one leg by the river side, watching for 
some prey to come within reach. 
They frequently make a loud clattering noise, by snapping 
the upper bill and the lower together with force and 
quickness. This sound is produced both in flight and when 
the bird is sitting on the nest. It is common to both the 
