THE STORK, CORMORANT AND ALBATROSS
It would take many pages to tell about all the wild animals that have at times been tamed by man or made to serve him in various ways. As it is, we must confine ourselves to a few, and have selected the three water-birds named above all of which have been of service to man in some way.
The Stork is not a tame bird in the sense of being kept about the household, but it has so long been taken care of and laws made to protect it, that it has grown very familiar and may be seen walking about the streets of Holland, even among crowds of people, without a show of fear. No one wants it for food, for its flesh is not good, and it does so much service by eating frogs, snakes and other troublesome animals, that every one feels friendly towards it.
It also struts about in the market places and keeps them clean and fresh by eating all the offal. Thus it plays the part of the turkey-buzzard of our Southern cities, which is taken care of for the same reason.
The Common Stork of the Old World countries is a large bird, long-legged and long-necked. It is pure white in color, except that the wings are partly black and the bill and legs are red. It sleeps standing on one leg, with the neck folded and the head turned back on the shoulders. If alarmed, as when a dog comes near, it makes a loud snapping noise with its bill.
The stork spends the winter in Africa and flies back in the summer to Europe, where it is very common in Holland and North Germany. Its feeding place is in the marshes, where it wades about, eating the frogs and other small animals to be found there. It is very fond of eels and will follow people about the streets who feed it on this favorite morsel. It has a way of asking for food by nodding its head, flapping its wings, and blowing the air from its lungs.
The Stork in its Feeding Grounds
Of a mild and peaceful disposition, the stork has long been much cared for and a halo of romance clings round it, coming down from ancient times. This arises from its devotion to its young, which brings it into esteem in various countries. It builds its nest on the roofs or chimneys of houses or the steeples of churches, the nest being a bunch of sticks, reeds and other debris. In the ruined cities of Asia a stork's nest may be seen on the top of nearly every standing pillar.
In Holland and many other parts of Europe it is common to put a box on the roof for the stork, and when the inmates find that a stork has built in their box they are glad, for they think it will bring good luck to the family. When a new baby comes to the household, children are told that the stork has brought it out of the well, and thus the young grow to like the stork. Four or five eggs are laid in the stork's nest, of white color tinged with buff, and the birds are apt to come back to the same nest year after year.
The stork not only shows great fondness for its young, but is also thought to take much care of its aged parents. Whether this is true or not, it adds to the affection people have for this bird. When the summer is over and it is time to fly south, the birds gather in large flocks as if to talk the matter over. The stork, indeed, has no voice, but it makes a great clatter with its bill. The meeting over, the flock flies off for the far-away tropics, the birds rising very high and making a loud rushing noise with their wings. They are gone, to be seen no more until the next summer is at hand.
Now let us take up the story of the Cormorant, one of the web-footed swimming and fishing birds, of which so many kinds dwell about the waters of the world. They belong to the same family as the pelicans, but while the pelican has a great net, or fish basket, under its lower bill, the cormorant has only a small one, not big enough to hold many fish.
The Cormorant, the Fishing Bird of China
The cormorants are great fish-eaters, so much so that it is common to call any large eater a cormorant. There are many species, some small, some large, living on the shores of islands and in some cases along rivers.
The way in which this bird is of service to man is in its being tamed and trained to catch fish for him. This used to be done in England and is still done in China. How it is done may be told in a few words.
The bird is easily tamed by the Chinese fishermen and is trained by them for its new duty. While being trained a string is tied to its leg so as to control its movements. Then small fish are thrown out and it springs after them. In time it learns to go into the water when a whistle is given and to come back when it hears a different whistle. After three or four weeks of this training the bird is ready for duty and no longer needs a string to hold it.
The birds become in time as docile as dogs and obey every order of their masters. When put regularly to work a small ring of hemp is tied around their throats, so that they cannot swallow large fish. When the fisherman rows out into the water the birds sit quietly on the side of the boat until they get his orders. Then into the water they dash and usually come up with a fish, which they bring to him.
If one comes up with a fish too large to handle, another bird, sometimes several birds, will come to his aid and help him to land the prize. Sometimes one of them takes a lazy fit and swims about the water, paying no heed to business. Then the fisherman shouts at the idle bird and strikes the water with his oar, keeping this up till it dives for prey.
At the end of the day's work the ring on the bird's neck is loosened or taken off and some of the fish are given it or it is allowed to fish for itself. Like the stork, the cormorant is very fond of eels, and when one of them comes up with an eel there is often a fight between two or three of them for the prize.
There is another bird on our list, the Albatross. It has never been tamed and cannot be said to be of service to man. At least I can name only one instance. In this case the bird is said to have been used to carry a message from shipwrecked sailors, telling where they could be found and asking for help. I cannot say whether this story is true or not, but it leads us to say something about this famous bird of the waves.
The Albatross swooping over the ocean waves
The albatross is a wonderful flyer. It is the largest of the web-footed birds, being four feet long and with a wing spread of from ten to seventeen feet. It seems to float or glide on the air rather than fly, hardly moving its long wings except when rising from the water.
It often follows ships for a long time; day after day, some people say, but this is doubtful. No ship can outsail it and it is said to be able to fly as much as eight hundred miles in a day. Sailors often fish for it with a baited hook, but find it hard to haul in, as it often draws out the hook or breaks the line. But a bait of blubber is very attractive and in a few minutes the same bird will take the hook again. Only by catching a fish in some such way as this could a message tied to its legs by shipwrecked sailors be found.
Sailors have long had a superstition about shooting the albatross, fearing that it would bring ill luck to the ship and its crew. All who can do so would do well to read Coleridge's famous poem of the "Ancient Mariner," in which the men who "shot the albatross" brought terrible misfortune to the ship and all on board.