Page:Cassell's book of birds (IA cassellsbookofbi04breh).pdf/82

 or fourth quill is longer than the rest. The short, rounded tail is formed of twelve feathers. In some species the head and throat are covered with long and narrow, and in others with short rounded feathers; in others, again, these are scanty, and either almost hairy in texture, or, as the birds increase in age, terminate in horny lancet-shaped points; the rest of the plumage, which is formed of large compact feathers, is occasionally glossy and beautifully coloured. All the various species have the region of the eye and throat bare, in some this bareness extends over the brow and cheeks. The sexes differ in size, and the young are recognisable by the comparative paleness of their tints.

(Cancroma cochlearia).

The Storks are met with in almost every portion of the globe, and are especially numerous in its warmest latitudes. Such as dwell in the north migrate or wander to a very considerable distance, whilst the occupants of southern countries are stationary. Everywhere they principally frequent flat marshy localities, or the vicinity of rivers and streams, occasionally appearing upon arid plains or cultivated ground in search of grasshoppers and other insects. Well-wooded districts are for the most part their favourite resorts, as they constantly select trees both for breeding purposes and as resting-places for the night; some few species, however, prove exceptions to this rule, and make their nests on roofs, chimneys, or other elevated situations in the immediate vicinity