Charles Perrin, age 10 of Peoria, Ill for his question:
What is the sack thing on a stork's neck?
Some people tell. curious children that babies are brought by the stork but, if this legend were true, then no babies would ever get born in America, For the stork is an old World bird and never flies to America of his own accord. The stork with a pouch on his neck which Charles saw was in a zoo and, if he was a big fellow, he was most likely an adjutant stork whose native home is in India and Africa.
This fellow stands five feet tall and in flight he has a wing spread of 14 feet. His plumage is grey, slate above and pearly on his breast. He has practically no feathers on his head or neck and he is called the adjutant because he struts around with the military bearing of an adjutant general.
In character, however,, the adjutant is far from military. He is an eater of carrion and he prefers to eat leftovers than fight for his food. In Africa, this big stork often gathers with the vultures around the body of a zebra after a lion has made the kill and had his fill.
The vultures and many other carrion birds have‑ naked heads and necks. All birds have to digest their food on the run, or rather on the wing. Any bird needs a lot of food because he uses up a great deal of energy and his digestive organs are suited to these needs. He has a gizzard, which is like a fist of tough muscles, thru the food is quickly ground. The bird swallows stones and bits of grit from time to time which the gizzard uses to help in this grinding process.
Curtain birds have special storage chamber called a crop which is in the gullet, When full of food or water, the crop shows as a bump on the from of the bird’s neck. But not for long, for when the gizzard is ready the food moves down to be chomped. If the bird has a bare neck, the crop then hangs like an empty sack. The sack on the neck of the stork which Charles saw was most likely his crop.
It was probably his crop even if the stork was not the adjutant He may have been a snow white bird, bedecked with, black wing feathers a red beak and red stockings on his long thin legs. If this were his color, then he was really one of those baby toting storks, an old World bird who summers in northern Europe. He is friendly fellow, quite tame, and he loves to build his ruggedly nest on a house top. People welcome him as an omen of goad luck. In Holland and Germany people say that they have a visit from the stork when they have had piece of goad fortune. And what better bundle of good fortune is there than a new born baby?
The friendly red, white and black stork of Europe dines mostly on frogs and rice, but once in a while he too may eat carrion. The feathers on his neck may be sparse and if so you may see the; sack of skin on his neck work up and down a s food passes from the crop to the gizzard.