During their migrations, Storks are observed in vast quantities. Dr. Shaw saw three flights of them leaving Egypt, and passing over Mount Carmel, each of which appeared to be nearly half a mile in width; and he says they were three hours in passing over. The Stork, like the ibis, was an object of worship among the ancients, and to kill them was a crime punishable with death. The Stork is remarkable for its great affection towards its young. This was remarkably evinced during the great conflagration of Delft, in Holland, during which a female Stork was noticed using every endeavour to carry off her young family, and continuing this labour of love until the smoke and flames prevented her own escape, and she perished with her brood. [Illustration: THE ADJUTANT, (_Leptoptilus argala_,)] ALSO called the Gigantic Crane, is a bird of the stork kind, and a native of India, and other warm countries. The head and neck are bare of feathers, as in the ostrich; the former looking as if made of wood; the latter of a flesh-colour. The coverts of the wings and the back are black, with a bluish cast; the under part of the body whitish; the legs are long, without feathers, and of a greyish hue, as are the thighs, which seem to be as slender as the leg. The bill is of enormous size, and the bird is fond of clatting the two mandibles together. Under the chin, there is a kind of bag or pouch which hangs down in front of the neck, like the dewlap of a cow; in this the Adjutant stores away any provisions that may fall in his way, after his immediate wants are satisfied. He is a most voracious bird, and devours every kind of food, and as he has no objection to carrion, his presence is encouraged in towns, where he assists the vultures, crows, dogs, and jackals, in performing the duties of scavengers. Indeed his rapacity is so great that he swallows such innutritious substances as bone with such eagerness and relish as to have received the name of “_Bone-eater_,” or “Bone-taker.” When he comes about the houses he requires to be carefully watched, as his power of swallowing is so great that a fowl, a rabbit, or even a leg of mutton, is disposed of at a single mouthful. Sir E. Horne states that in the stomach of an Adjutant were found a tortoise nearly a foot long, and a large black cat; from, which we may see that the Adjutant is by no means squeamish in his diet. The Adjutant is indeed a very gigantic bird. Its wings often measure fourteen or fifteen feet from tip to tip, and it is five feet high when it stands erect.