GRALLATORIiE. 381 



mantle and wings black. From the shores of the Red Sea, and 

 of the Senegal river.(l) 



Tantalus, Lin. 



The Wood-Pelicans have the feet, nostrils and beak of the Stork; 



but the back of the beak is rounded, its point curved downwards, 



and slightly emarginated on each side: a part of their head and 



sometimes of the neck, is destitute of feathers. 



T. loculator, L.; Enl. 868; Wils. VIII, Ixvi, 1. (The Wood- 

 Pelican of America.) Is the size of a Stork, but more slender; 

 white; quills of the wings and tail, black; beak and feet, as well 

 as the naked skin of the head and neck, blackish. It inhabits 

 both Americas, arriving in each country about the rainy season, 

 and frequenting muddy waters, where it chiefly hunts for eels. 

 It is a stupid bird, whose gait is very slow. 



T. ibis, L. Enl. 339. (The Wood-Pelican of Africa.) White, 

 lightly shaded with purple on the wingsj beak yellow; skin of 

 the face red and naked. This is the bird which has long been 

 considered by naturalists as the Jbis of the ancient Egyptians, 

 but recent researches have proved that the Ibis is a much smaller 

 bird, of which we shall speak hereafter. The Tantalus is not 

 even usually found in Egypt; the specimens we possess are 

 brought from Senegal. 



T. leucocephalus; Tantale de Ceylan, Encyc. Method. Orn. pi. 

 66, fig. 1; Vieill. Gal. 247 (The Wood-Pelican of Ceylon), is 

 the largest of all, and has the stoutest beak. This beak and 

 the skin of the face are yellow; plumage white, with black 

 quills; a black cincture round the breast; long rose-coloured 

 feathers on the rump, which are shed during the rainy sea- 

 son.(2) 



Platalea, Lin. (3) 



The Spoonbills approximate to the Storks, in the whole of their 

 structure; but their bill, whence they derive their name, is long, 

 flat, broad throughout, becoming widened and flattened, particularly 

 at the end, so as to form a spatula-like disk; two shallow grooves, 

 originating at its base, extend almost to the end, but without being 



(1) Dupont, Ann. des Sc. Nat. torn. IX, pi. xlv. It is the Erodia amphilensis. 

 Salt., Voy. in Abyss., Atl. pi. xxxi. 



(2) Add the T. ladeus, T. Col. 352. 



(3) Platalea, or rhitea, Latin names, sometimes used as synonymous with Peli- 

 canus. 



