flight, these birds mount high in the air, and although the bird ceases to be perceptible to the eye, yet his voice can be heard; and it is said that their sight is so keen, that they discover at a great distance any field of corn, or other food, which they are fond of, and presently alight and enjoy it. These depredations they generally commit during the night, and they trample down the ground as if it had been marched over by an army. They generally form themselves in the air into the shape of a wedge, in order to cut the adverse winds with greater facility. Milton expresses this circumstance with his usual superiority: Part more wise In common, ranged in figure, wedge their way, PARAD. LOST. VII. This bird lives to a great age; and as he is easily tamed, it has been ascertained that the Crane often reaches his fortieth year. When Cranes are assembled on the ground, they are said to set guards during the night; these stand watch on one leg, and hold in their right claw a stone of considerable weight; in order that, if overcome by sleep, the falling of the stone may awake them! The ancient fable of the battles between the Cranes and the Pigmies, a supposed nation of dwarfs, inhabiting India, Thracia, and Æthiopia, though consecrated by the lore of the best poets, has long been exploded. Homer, Ovid, and several others, mention these ridiculous fights with more elegance than truth; and Juvenal derides them with his usual sarcastic sneer. Is originally, as the name expresses, a native of Majorca and Minorca, in the Mediterranean sea, but is chiefly found now in the Cape Verd Islands. The shape of his body is not unlike the common Crane, but he has a principal and distinctive mark on his head; that is, a tuft of hairs, or rather strong grayish bristles, spreading every way, and standing out like rays in every direction, which are a peculiarity belonging to this species, and from which he takes his other name of the Crowned Heron. They roost in the manner of the peacocks, and feed like them. The Numidian Crane is well known for his antic gestures, when he perceives himself noticed by any body. THE neck, head, breast, and belly of this bird are white, the rump and exterior feathers of the wings black; the eyelids naked; the tail white; and the legs long, slender, and of a reddish colour. Storks are birds of passage, as it is supposed, although we cannot yet ascertain whither they migrate. When leaving Europe, they assemble together on some particular day, and all take their flight at night. This is a fact; but what remains to be explained is, by what instinct, or means, they are convoked together. As they feed on frogs, lizards, serpents, and other noxious creatures, it is not to be expected that man should be inimical to them, and therefore they have heen generally and at all times a favourite with the nations they frequent. The Dutch have laws against destroying them: they are therefore very common in Holland; and build their nests, and rear their young, on the tops of houses and chimneys in the middle of its most frequented and populous cities. The Stork resembles much the crane in his conformation, but appears somewhat more corpulent in the body. The former lays four eggs, whereas the latter lays but two. It is said that Storks visit Egypt in such abundance that the fields and meadows are white with them. Yet the Egyptians are not displeased with the sight; as frogs are there generated in such numbers, that, did not the Storks devour them, they would overrun every thing. Between Belba and Gaza, the fields of Palestine are often rendered desert on account of the abundance of mice and rats; and, were they not destroyed, the inhabitants could have no harvest. The disposition of the Stork is mild and placid. This bird is easily tamed, and may be trained to reside in gardens, which it will clear of insects and reptiles. It has a grave air, and a mournful visage: yet when roused by example, it exhibits a certain degree of gaiety; for it joins in the frolics of children, hopping about and playing with them: " In a garden," says an eye witness," where the children were playing at hide-and-seek, I saw a tame Stork join the party, run its turn when touched, and distinguish the child whose turn it was to pursue the rest, so well, as, along with the others, to be on its guard." During their migrations, Storks are observed in vast flocks. Dr. Shaw saw three flights of them leaving Egypt, and passing over Mount Carmel, each half a mile in width; and he says they were three hours in passing over. Is a bird of the stork kind, lately brought from Botany Bay. The beak of this creature is an anomaly among the rest; it is composed of two long sticks, apparently as if of wood, with which it makes a loud clattering noise, in order to clean them. The head is bare of feathers, hairs, or down; and also looks as if made of wood; in which the eye seems to be set, as if without lids or any cartilaginous appendages. Under the chin is a kind of bag, or purse, that seems adapted to receive the water they are obliged to swallow with the fish they feed on.. The neck is not covered with feathers, but bare like that of the ostrich, and of a flesh colour. The covert of the wings and back are black, with a bluish cast; the under part of the body whitish; the legs are long, without feathers, and of a grayish hue; so are the thighs, which seem to be as slender as the leg. The articulation between the tibia and the femur is very perceptible, and larger than in any bird of the kind. |