Fig. 137.—White Stork (Ciconia alba, Temm.).
The Stork is not only a good mother, but she is also an excellent wife. The attachment which these birds show for each other when they are once paired has long back procured for them a high reputation for conjugal fidelity. Thus, in the Vorarlberg (Tyrol), a male Stork was known to have refused to migrate, passing several winters by the side of his mate, which, in consequence of a wound in her wing, was unable to fly.
We must, however, add that some lady Storks are by no means slow in consoling themselves for the loss of husbands who ought to be the subjects of eternal regret. A few tears, as a matter of form, and their grief ends! Sprungli notes the case of one widowed Stork who contracted new bonds after two days' mourning. Another gave evidence of the most guilty perversity. The lady began by betraying the confidence of him with whom she had united her destinies; his presence had evidently become insupportable to her, and she finally killed him with the help of her accomplice.
These errors of the female render the high morality of the male more conspicuous. Witness the following story, related by Neander:—
A number of Storks had taken up their abode in the market-town of Tangen, in Bavaria. Perfect harmony reigned in every family, and their lives were passed in happiness and freedom. Unfortunately, a female, who had been up to that time the most correct of Storks, allowed herself to be led away by the idle gallantries of a young male; this took place in the absence of her mate, who was engaged in seeking food for his family. This guilty liaison continued until one day the male, returning unexpectedly, became convinced of her infidelity. He did not, however, venture to take the law into his own hands; he was reluctant to dip his bill into the blood of her he had once loved so fondly. He arraigned her before a tribunal composed of all the birds at the time assembled for their autumnal migration. Having stated the facts, he demanded the severest judgment of the court against the accused. The ungrateful spouse was condemned to death by unanimous consent, and was immediately torn in pieces. As to the male bird, although now avenged, he departed to bury his sorrows in the recesses of some desert, and the place which once knew him afterwards knew him no more.
The Storks of the Levant manifest a still greater susceptibility. The inhabitants of Smyrna, who know how far the males carry their feelings of conjugal honour, make these birds the subjects of rather a cruel amusement. They divert themselves by placing Hen's eggs in the nest of the Stork. At the sight of this unusual production the male allows a terrible suspicion to gnaw his heart. By the help of his imagination, he soon persuades himself that his mate has betrayed him; in spite of the protestations of the poor thing, he delivers her over to the other Storks, who are drawn together by his cries, and the innocent and unfortunate victim is pecked to pieces.
Besides the numerous virtues that we have just stated—paternal love, conjugal fidelity, chastity, and gratitude—the ancients attributed to them (among birds) the monopoly of filial piety. They believed that these birds maintained and nourished their parents in their old age, and devoted themselves to alleviating the trials of the last years of their lives with the most tender care. Hence was derived the name of the "Pelargonian Law" (from the Greek πελαργος, a Crane), the name given by the Greeks to the law which compelled children to maintain their parents when old age had rendered them incapable of working. This last feature in its character has not a little contributed to the universal celebrity of the Stork.
The flesh of the Stork forms but a poor article of food; it is, therefore, rather difficult to see why the sportsmen in our country persist in shooting at it every time that they get a chance. The reprehensible mania which our French Nimrods possess of indiscriminately massacring everything which shows itself within reach of their guns is a disgrace to those who practise it, and an injury to the community at large. The result is that the Stork, meeting with nothing but ill-treatment in return for its loyal and useful services, is gradually retiring from France, and before long will have completely abandoned it.
The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is rather smaller than the one above named; it is a native of Eastern Europe, and is rarely seen in France. It feeds almost exclusively on fish, which it catches with much skill. It is very shy, and avoids the society of man; it builds its nest in trees.