The Living Animals of the World, Volume II: Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fishes, Jointed Animals, Molluscs, etc.

THE STORKS.

There are few birds which have figured more prominently in the realms of fairy-tale and fable than the WHITE STORK. Today it is almost universally held in affectionate regard, and in Holland, Denmark, and Germany is afforded the strictest protection, every effort being made, in localities where it is plentiful, to induce it to build its nest upon the house-roof. Sometimes, to effect this, its fondness for a stage of some sort being known, a cart-wheel is set up, and this generally proves successful, the grateful bird erecting thereon its nest. Once occupied, it may be held by several generations of tenants; and year by year additions

Photo by L. Media-ad, jf.z.s.} [North Finchley. are made to the nest, so that the original FULMAR PETREL. at last attains a shallow structure, height.,,,,Like the vulture, this bird will so gorge itself with food as to be unable, for a time, to fly. of several feet. The material used in its

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construction consists of sticks and other substances. He considers himself a fortunate man indeed who can boast a stork's nest on his house.

To show how widespread is the regard in which this bird is held, we may mention that in Morocco, according to Colonel Irby, "almost every Moorish hovel has its stork's nest on the top, a pile of sticks lined with grass and palmetto-fibre," and he goes on to relate that in "Morocco and Fez, and some other large towns in the Moorish Empire, there is a regular storks' hospital, and that, should one be in any way injured or fall from the nest, it is sent to this institution, or rather enclosure, which is kept up by subscriptions from wealthy Moors, who regard the stork as a sacred bird."

Though the nest appears to be generally placed upon buildings, it is, when these fail, built in trees, and the selection of such sites must be regarded as representing the original practice of the species. The stork is one of the very few birds which appear to be quite dumb. It supplies the want of a voice by a very remarkable clapping noise made by the long, horny beak. But even this noise is rarely made, and appears to be prompted by unusual excitement. "During the breeding-season," Mr. Howard Saunders tells us, " storks keep up a clappering with their bills, and this sound may frequently be heard proceeding from a number of birds circling in the air at such a height as to be almost invisible."

The affection displayed by storks for their young is proverbial. They feed them by little mouths, and injecting the half-digestedthrusting their beaks down into the gaping remains of their last meal, which may represent reptile, frog, or fish, varied by a small mammal, young bird, worms, or insects.

The white stork is a really beautiful bird. Except the quill- arid some of the smaller wing-feathers, which are black, the plumage is snow-white, whilst the bill and the legs are bright red. Like the swallow, it performs extensive migrations, travelling in flocks, numbering many thousands, at an immense height. Scarcely less beautiful is the BLACK STORK, and, like its white-plumaged ally, it is also an occasional visitant to Britain. It is a handsome bird, having the plumage of the upper-parts black, richly glossed with purple, copper, and green; the under-parts pure white; and the legs and beak red. But it is far less sociable, and consequently less known, than the white stork, shunning the haunts of men, and seeking seclusion for its nest in the lofty trees of large forests. The largest members of the Stork Tribe are the ADJUTANT-STORKS and JABIRUS. The adjutants are also, to our eyes at least, singularly ugly birds. In spite of this very natural disadvantage, they have won a very high place in the regard of the people among whom they dwell, on account of the fact that, both in Africa and India, they perform, with the vultures, the work of scavengers. Yet there is something of quaintness about these birds, if they are watched from a distance too great to reveal the character which imparts the ugli- Waitcr Rotiuchiu, Tring. ness to which we have referred, and their actions WHALE-HEADED STORK. n t seldom border on the grotesque. The name

A rare species, remarkable for the huge size of the beak. Adjutant has been bestowed Upon them On

Photo by Ottomar Anschiitz]

WHITE STORKS.

The right-hand figure shows the bird making the curious clappering with its beak. (Berlin. Photo by Ottomar Anschiitz)

WHITE STORK.

A parent bird returning with a frog for its young. 437

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account of the peculiar gait, which bears a fanciful resemblance to the measured pacing of an officer on parade. Like all the Storks, they have large bodies and very long legs, but they have outstripped all their relatives in the enormous size of the beak. The features which have earned this unenviable reputation for ugliness are the peculiarly unkempt and unwashed appearance of the head and neck. These are but scantily clothed in very shabby, brown-looking down-feathers; and the neck is made still more, we might almost say, repulsive by the presence of a large bare pouch, which can be distended with air to an enormous size at will. The Arabs, on account of this pouch, call the species resident with them "The Father of the Leather Bottle." Some, however, say that the correct translation of the native name

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regents Park.

ADJUTANT-STORK.

The curious wind-tag is well shown.

would be " The Father of the Beak." But it is not only on account of their scavenging propensities that the adjutants are esteemed, for it is from the under tail-coverts of these Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Part;. birds that the much-prized " ADJUTANT-STORK. "" " marabou or comercolly This shows the bird in a rather unusual feathers are obtained at least attitude. the finest kinds; for some appear to be furnished by that chief of scavengers, the vulture. More precious still "is the celebrated stone called Zahir mora, or poison-killer, of great virtue and repute as an antidote to all kinds of poison," to be procured only by splitting open the head of the bird before death. Needless to say, the existence of this stone lives only in popular superstition, Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.though how many poor birds have fallen victims thereto is not pleasant to contemplate. JABIRU STORK. high. Adjutants choose almost inaccessible pinnacles of rock on This bird stands between 4 and 5 feet

Storks, Herons, and Pelican Tribe 439 which to build their nests, though they sometimes nest in trees. From two to four white eggs are laid, from which, if all goes well, as many young, covered with fluffly white down, are hatched. The JABIRUS are distant relatives of, and scarcely inferior in size to, the Adjutants. There are three species, one occurring in the Indian Peninsula, New Guinea, and Australia, one in Africa, and one in South America. It is to this last species that the name Jabiru correctly applies. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that it is one of the handsomest of its tribe. The whole plumage is pure white, and the upper-parts are made additionally isresplendent by an indescribable satin- like gloss. The beautiful whiteness of its plumage enhanced by the fact that the head and neck, bill and feet, are jet-black. Some would give the palm of beauty to the AFRICAN SADDLE-BILLED STORK. Black and white, as in the American form, are the contrasting " colours "; but the plumage of the body, instead of being pure white, is plentifully enriched with black, with beautiful purple reflections.

Photo by D. Le Souef] [Melbourne. FLAMINGOES. In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the bird a very remarkable appearance.

More or less nearly allied to the Storks are several species familiar enough to the professional ornithologist, but not very well known generally. One of the rarest and most interesting of these us the WHALE-HEADED or SHOE-BILLED STORK of the Nile, remarkable for its enormous boat-shaped bill. More common but equally interesting are the beautiful FLAMINGOES. Apart from the brilliancy of their colour, the most noticeable feature of these birds is the curious beak, which is bent downwards at a sharp angle, and provided on its inside with horny plates resembling those of the Ducks and Swans. The tongue of this bird, unlike that of the Stork Tribe generally, is thick and fleshy, and also resembles that of the duck. is the only member of the Stork Tribe which builds a mud-nest. Its The flamingo foundation laid often in as much as 15 inches of water, and rising above the surface from size.6 to 8 inches, with a diameter at the top of 15 inches, it forms a pile of no mean inStrangely enough, though these birds are never so happy as when wading " knee " deep water, yet after the construction of the nest the incubation of the eggs is delayed so long

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that before they are hatched the water has disappeared, leaving a burning plain of sun-baked mud. On the top of this nest the parent sits with its long neck neatly curled away among the back-feathers, with its long legs doubled up, and projecting behind her for some distance beyond the tail. Until quite recently it was believed that the bird incubated its eggs by sitting astride the nest, the length of the legs forbidding any : this has other position now been proved beyond Photo liy diaries Knight] [Aldershot. cavil to be an entirely FLAMINGOES. erroneous opinion. On account of the swan-like neck and "strainers" along the edges of the beak, these birds have been regarded as long-legged members of the Duck Tribe, but they seem more nearly related 1 D. 6 6 g g S, tWO in to the storks. number, are peculiar in that they are encased in a thick outer chalky coat, which on removal reveals a greenish-blue shell.

The characteristic crooked beak of the adult is not at all apparent in the young bird, and only appears as it approaches maturity.

The huge flocks in which these birds consort are graphically described by Mr. Abel : " In herds of 300 to 400, several of which are often in sight at once,Chapman as follows they stand feeding in the open water, all their heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water-plants from the bottom. On approaching them, which can only be done by extreme caution, their silence is first broken by the sentries, who commence walking away with low croaks; then hundreds of necks rise at once to full extent, every bird gaggling its loudest, as they walk obliquely away, looking back over their shoulders, as though to take stock of the extent of the danger. Pushing a few yards forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful sight cannot be imagined than the simultaneous spreading of the crimson wings, flashing against the sky like a gleam of rosy light. In many respects these birds bear a Strong resemblance to geese. Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.l (Regent's Park. Like them, flamingoes feed EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES. by day; and great quantities These birds breed in the South of France and Spain.