An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second,…

And that we are not here to understand the Stork properly taken, but the Ostrich, is plain for these three reasons; the first of which hath been already intimated, the bird here intended being of a quite contrary nature to the stork. Secondly, The Stork hath no such beautiful feathers as seem to be given to the bird here spoken of, yet we must not believe that all those beautiful colours in which Ostriches feathers are seen and worn, are natural to them; for she hath no feathers of note, of any colour growing on her, but black and white, all others are died and artificial. Thirdly, The Stork doth not lay her eggs on the ground, but builds on high in trees (Psal. 104.17.) As for the Stork, the Fir-trees are her house, whereas the bird here mentioned, goes upon the ground; though she hath wings, yet not wings able to ⟨p. 394⟩lift her up to a tree,¹ or take any lofty flight in the air. Naturalists describing the Ostrich, tell us, that she is such a bird as is also a kind of beast. Some creatures are of two kinds in one, living partly upon the earth, and partly in the water; here the Ostrich may upon another account be numbered among these, he using the wing to flutter a little in the air like a bird, yet mostly like a beast moving upon the earth. And hence a learned Author placeth the ostrich between fowls that fly in the air, and things that breath or move upon the earth. Pliny reports, the Ostriches of Africa and Arabia to be very big bodied, as tall in stature as a horse and his rider, and more swift of foot than any horse, being helped by their wings, which yet are not strong enough to raise their bulky bodies above the earth.

And that we are not here to understand the Stork properly taken, but the Ostrich, is plain for these three reasons; the first of which hath been already intimated, the bird here intended being of a quite contrary nature to the stork. Secondly, The Stork hath no such beautiful feathers as seem to be given to the bird here spoken of, yet we must not believe that all those beautiful colours in which Ostriches feathers are seen and worn, are natural to them; for she hath no feathers of note, of any colour growing on her, but black and white, all others are died and artificial. Thirdly, The Stork doth not lay her eggs on the ground, but builds on high in trees (