Storks and the Myth

We have a Bali painting here that shows the beauty of storks and other birds. I captured only the stork for this meme.

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. For centuries the stork has been a figure representing birth, and children were told that babies appear carried by a stork. If you have ever questioned why a white stork was selected for this reputation, here is how the tale is trusted to have originated:

Storks are family-oriented birds who, in addition to being very gentle with their young, are conscientious homemakers, and they return in pairs to the same nesting spot, year after year.

The story goes that when a stork flies south for the winter, it visits the watery swamps of Egypt where the souls of unborn children live. Upon returning, it would carry a child back. The regular absence of the stork during migration made it a likely target of this myth (source:todayspregnancy.com).