THE AMERICAN BITTERN

Is common to all our sea and river marshes, though no where numerous; it rests all day among the reeds and rushes, and, unless disturbed, feeds and flies only during the night. In some places it is called the Indian hen. On the seacoast of New Jersey, it is known by the name of dunkadoo, a word probably imitative of its note. It utters sometimes a hollow guttural note, among the reeds; but has nothing of that long booming sound for which the European bittern is so remarkable. When disturbed, they rise with a hollow kwa, and are then easily shot down, as they fly heavily. Like most other night birds, their sight is most acute during the evening twilight; but their hearing is at all times exquisite. They make their nests in swamps, laying four eggs in the long grass.

THE LEAST BITTERN2

Is the smallest known species of the whole tribe. It is commonly found in fresh water meadows, and rarely visits the salt marshes. In the meadows of Schuylkill and Delaware below Philadelphia, a few of these birds breed every year; making their nests in the thick tussocks of grass in swampy places. When alarmed they seldom fly far, but take shelter among the reeds or long grass. They are scarcely ever seen exposed, but skulk during the whole day; and, like the preceding species, feed chiefly at night. This little creature measures but twelve inches in length.

THE STORK.3

THE most remarkable of this tribe is the white stork, the length of which is about three feet. The bill is nearly eight inches long, and of a fine red color. The plumage is wholly white, except the orbits of the eyes, which are bare and blackish; some of the feathers on the side of the back and on the wings are black. The skin, the legs, and the bare parts of the thighs are red.

The white stork is semi-domestic; haunting towns and cities, and in many places stalking unconcernedly about the streets, in search of offal and

3 Ciconia alba, BELLON. The genus Ciconia has the bill long, straight, stout, cylindri cal, in the form of an elongated pointed cone; ridge rounded, of equal height with the head; under mandible slightly bent upwards; nostrils longitudinally cleft in a groove of the horny substance; eyes surrounded with a naked space; legs long; the three anterior toes united to the first joint, the hind toe jointed on the same level as the others; wings of moderate size.

other food. They remove the noxious filth, and clear the fields of serpents and reptiles. On this account they are protected in Holland, held in high veneration by the Mahometans; and so greatly were they respected in times of old by the Thessalonians, that to kill one of these birds was a crime expiable only by death. The ancients, indeed, ascribed to it the virtues of temperance, conjugal fidelity, and filial and paternal piety.

The disposition of this bird is mild, neither shy nor savage; it 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 shows a certain degree of gaiety; for it joins in the frolics of children, by imitating them. Dr Herman tells us, that he saw a

tame one in a garden, where the children were playing at hide and seek, and that it run its turn when touched, and so well distinguished the child whose turn it was to pursue the rest, as to be perfectly on its guard. Nor do they lightly feel or inadequately revenge an injury. A wild stork, having been. beaten by a tame one, has been known, after an interval of four months, to come back with three other storks, and kill the former victor.

Storks are birds of passage, and observe great exactness in the time of their autumnal departure from Europe to more favorite climates. They are seldom seen farther north than Sweden; and though they have scarcely ever been met with in England, they are so common in Holland as to build every where on the tops of the houses, where the inhabitants provide boxes for them to make their nests in, and are careful that the birds suffer no injury,

always resenting this as an offence committed against themselves. Storks are also common at Aleppo, and in plenty at Seville, in Spain. At Bagdad, hundreds are said to be seen about the houses, walls, and trees; and at Persepolis, or Chilmanar, in Persia, the remains of the pillars serve them to build on, every pillar having a nest on it.

This bird bestows much time and care on the education of its young, and does not leave them till they have strength sufficient for defence and support. When they begin to flutter out of the nest, the mother bears them on her wings; she protects them from danger, and will sometimes perish rather than forsake them.

In autumn they retire into Egypt, and the marshes of Barbary, where they enjoy a second summer, and bring up a second brood. Their migration is performed in immense companies. Dr Shaw saw passing over Mount Carmel three flocks of them, each of which was half a mile in width, and they were three hours in going by. Bellonius informs us, that storks visit Egypt in such abundance, that the fields and meadows are white with them, and that the natives are pleased with their arrival, as the birds deliver them from innumerable swarms of frogs, and also devour serpents. Between Belbeis and Gaza, in Palestine, they perform a similar service, by destroying innumerable rats and mice.

In the northern countries of Europe there are storks, of which the plumage is black.

MARABOU STORK.1

THE marabou stork appears to inhabit nearly the whole of tropical Africa, extending southward, according to M. Temmick, to the neighborhood of the Cape of Good Hope, where, however it is by no means common. M. Rüppel observed it on the banks of the Nile, Major Denham in the neighborhood of the large towns in the interior, and Smeathman on the western coast. The plumes imported into Europe are brought chiefly from Senegal. In its habits this bird bears a close resemblance to the white stork of Europe, but becomes still more familiar, and, in consequence of its larger size, renders more essential service in the removal of carrion, offal, and other nuisances. This important office, like the adjutants of Calcutta, it shares with the vultures; and both birds are universally privileged from all annoyance, in return for so meritorious extion of their natural propensities. They seem to be constantly attracted the heaps of offensive substances collected in the villages and towns, which they devour without scruple, and in immense quantities. The mode in which the Indian bird performs the

functions of a scavenger has been repeatedly described by travellers; and Major Denham mentions his having frequently been a witness of the voracious and omnivorous habits of the African. Nothing seems to come amiss to its voracious appetite, for when carrion is scarce, it attacks reptiles, small birds, and even the lesser quadrupeds, which it usually swallows entire.

These birds are so peaceable in their manners, and so inclined to become familiar, that there is little difficulty in taming them. Dr Latham gives an amusing account, derived from Smeathman, of the behavior of a young individual, which had been brought up in a state of domestication in the part of Africa where that traveller resided. This bird always took its place at dinner time, in the great hall, behind its master's chair, where it remained

in expectation of its usual share in the meal. The servants had some difficulty in protecting the dishes from its attacks previously to the arrival of the guests; they carried switches for the purpose, but it would frequently watch its opportunity and snatch some favorite morsel before they were aware of it. In this way it had been known to swallow an entire boiled fowl at a single mouthful. It was permitted to fly at large about the island, and roosted very high among the silk-cotton trees, from the tops of which, even

at the distance of two or three miles, it would espy the servants carrying the dishes across the yard, and dash down among them as they entered the hall.

The attitudes of these birds are particularly curious, and frequently hot a little ludicrous. At rest, they either stand upon one leg, with the neck withdrawn and the bill brought forwards towards the breast, or sit upon the ground with one or both legs directed straight before them. But when excited, they elongate their necks, and stand at their full height, menacing with their large bills, which are, however, too light to inflict any serious injury, even had the birds courage enough to attempt it.

THE FLAMINGO 2

Is, perhaps, the most remarkable of water-fowl; it is one of the tallest and the most beautiful.. The body, which is of a beautiful scarlet, is no bigger than that of a swan; but its legs and neck are of such an extraordinary length, that when it stands erect, it is six feet six inches high. Its wings, extended, are five feet six inches from tip to tip; and it is four feet eight inches from tip to tail. The head is round and small, with a large bill, seven inches long, partly red, partly black, and crooked like a bow. The legs and thighs, which are not much thicker than a man's finger, are about two feet eight inches high; and its neck near three feet long. The feet are feeble, and united by membranes, as in those of the goose. Of what use these mem branes are does not appear, as the bird is never seen swimming, its legs and thighs being sufficient to bear it into those depths where it seeks for prey.

This extraordinary bird is now chiefly found in America, but was once known on all the coasts of Europe. It is still occasionally met with on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its beauty, its size, and the peculiar delicacy of its flesh, have been such temptations destroy or take it, that it has long since deserted the shores frequented by man, and taken refuge in countries that are as yet but thinly peopled.

When the Europeans first came tonerica, and coasted down along the African shores, they found the flamingos on several shores on either continent gentle, and no way distrustful of mankind. When the fowler had killed one, the rest of the flock, far from attempting to fly, only regarded the fall of their companion in a kind of fixed astonishment; another and another shot was discharged; and thus the fowler often levelled the whole flock, before one of them began to think of escaping,

Phenicopterus ruber, LIN. This is the only one of the genus. Its characteristics are a bill thick, strong, deeper than broad, dentated, naked at the base; upper mandible bent over the under at the tip; the under broader than the upper; nostrils longitudinal in the middle of the bill, covered by a membrane; legs very long, with three toes before, and a very short one articulated high on the tarsus behind; the fore toes connected with the claws; wings middle sized.