The stork is not usually in the Physiologus. The Epiphanius version says the stork is the most chaste bird; neither the male nor the female entices the other to have sex, or tries to force the other. Also the young diligently feed and care for their parents when they are old; this second attribute is derived from Pliny the Elder. The interpretation says we should likewise avoid evil, do good, honor our father and our mother, and not commit adultery.
The storks in the van der Borcht copperplate engraving below are presumably parent and child. The lack of clear identification of which is parent and which is child or of which bird is feeding the other may be deliberate, to show that the parent first cares for the child and the child later reciprocates by feeding the aged parent.
 "Click to enlarge")
The woodcut from the Rome, 1577 edition is unavailable.
Properties of the Woodpecker
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