1. This bird is very similar to the crane, which is common in some parts of this country. It is a migratory bird, and passes the winter in the north of Africa, more particularly in Egypt. In spring it migrates to France, Holland, Sweden, Germany, and Poland.

2. It is very rarely met with in England or Scotland. It measures about three feet from the end of the bill to the tip of the tail, and its height from the ground to the top of its head is about the same.

3. Its bill is usually of an orange-red colour, and measures from seven to eight inches in length. The naked and wrinkled skin surrounding its eyes is nearly of the same colour, but of a duskier hue, and the legs are also red.

4. The greater part of the plumage is a clear white. This is, however, relieved by the striking

contrast of the feathers covering the lower part of the shoulders, the larger wing coverts, and the quill feathers, thirty in number, all of which are of a glossy black, with a slight metallic reflection.

5. When fully expanded the extent of the wings exceeds six feet. The feathers of the lower part of the neck are long and pointed. There is little distinction in these particulars between the male and female, but the younger birds have a browner tinge on their wings, and their bills are of a duskier red.

6. The food of these birds consists chiefly of frogs, serpents, lizards, and other noxious animals. They have been regarded in all ages with peculiar favour. In some countries they are almost venerated, on account of the services which they perform in the destruction of noxious animals, in ridding the earth of impurities, also on account of the mildness of their tempers, and the harmlessness of their habits.

7. Amongst the ancient Egyptians the stork was regarded with a reverence inferior only to that which was, for a similar reason, paid to the sacred ibis.

8. The same feeling is still prevalent in many parts of Africa and the East. In Switzerland and Holland it is received by the people as a welcome guest, indeed, in the latter country the services which it renders in keeping the dykes clear of the enormous quantity of reptiles engendered by the humidity of the air and fertility of the soil, has earned for it the gratitude of the nation.

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9. The stork is very friendly to man. dismayed by his presence it builds its nest upon the house-top, or on the summits of the loftiest trees in the immediate neighbourhood of the most frequented places. It walks, perfectly at ease, along the busiest streets of the most crowded town, and seeks its food on the banks of the rivers, or in fens in close vicinity to the abode of man.

10. In numerous parts of Holland its nest, built on the chimney-top, remains undisturbed for many successive years, and the owners constantly return with unerring sagacity to the well-known spot. The joy which the birds manifest in taking possession of their old dwelling, and the attachment which they show towards their benevolent hosts, are familiar to all who dwell in these districts.

11. The affection which they show for their young, is one of the most remarkable features in their character. At the town of Delft, in Holland, a house, on the top of which was a nest of storks, took fire. The female stork, after many repeated and unsuccessful attempts to carry off her young to a place of safety, chose rather to perish with them than leave them to their fate.

12. The female generally lays from two to four eggs of a dingy, yellowish white, rather larger than that of a goose. She sits on them for more than a month, the male bird taking her place when she goes abroad to seek her food. When the young

birds are hatched, they are carefully fed by their parents, who watch over them with the closest anxiety..

13. As soon as they become capable of flying, the parents exercise them by degrees, carrying them at first upon their own wings and then conducting them in short circular flights around their nest.

14. When in search of food, the stork is generally seen in its usual attitude of repose standing on one leg, with its long neck bent backwards, its head resting on its shoulder, and its eye steadily fixed.

15. The large extent of the wings of the stork and the comparative lightness of its body, are admirably adapted to the lofty pitch at which it flies, and to its long continuance on the wing.

16. Storks generally migrate about the beginning of August, the preparations for their departure usually occupying several weeks. They gradually assemble in one spot from the whole of the surrounding district to the number of many hundreds,

making, when they meet, that peculiar clattering with their beaks which appears to serve them in place of voice.

17. As soon as their number is completed, they mount at once into the air without noise or confu

sion, and are speedily lost sight of in the loftiness of their flight. They return to Europe in smaller bands. in March or April.

What water bird found in this country does the stork resemble? Where does the stork pass the winter? To what countries does it migrate in spring? What is the height of the bird? What is the colour of the bill? What is the food of these birds? Why are they almost venerated by the people in the countries where they are found? Name some country in Europe where they are specially welcomed by the people. In what places do they build their nests? How many eggs do they lay? How are the young birds taught to fly? In what month of the year do they leave Holland? Describe the manner in which they migrate.