78 



WADING BIRDS. 



Bend of the Missouri, and is now, I believe, in the extensive museum 

 of the Right Honorable Lord Stanley, at Knowsley Hall. 



SPOONBILLS. (Platalea, Lin.) 



In these the bill is very long, large, much flattened, dilated and 

 orbicular at the extremity ; upper mandible deeply furrowed, and 

 transversely grooved towards its base, terminated by a hooked nail. 

 Nostrils, in the furrow, basal, near together, oblong, open, mar- 

 gined by a membrane. Head and Face, in part, or entirely naked. 

 Feet, tarsus, but little longer than the middle toe, robust; the three 

 fore toes united as far as the second joint, by a deeply indented mem- 

 brane ; hind toe long, bearing on the ground nearly its whole length. 

 Wings moderate, ample; 1st primary a little shorter than the 2d; 

 second longest. Tail of 12 feathers. 



Male and female nearly alike in plumage. The young differ much 

 from the adult, changing the colors of their dress, and the appear- 

 ance of the bill, until the third year. The moult takes place once in 

 the year. 



The Spoonbills associate in small flocks, living in woody marshes, 

 near the outlets of rivers ; and are rarely seen in the immediate vi- 

 cinity of the sea. They wade slowly into the water, after tlie man- 

 ner of Herons, but though provided with considerable webs to the 

 feet, they rarely ever swim. Their flight is easy, slow, and con- 

 ducted usually at a considerable elevation ; they also alight on trees, 

 and are said to be noisy, more particularly at the breeding season ; 

 and for this purpose, like the Cranes, the males are provided with an 

 extensive and replicated trachea. They feed on small fish, spawn, 

 reptiles, minute shell-fish, insects and worms, and occasionally on 

 vegetable substances, probing the mud with their sensitive and enor- 

 mous bills, and sometimes they are said to have the art to clatter their 

 mandibles together in such a manner as to scare other birds out of 

 their prey. They nest, according to the convenience of the situation, 

 either in trees, shrubs, or merely in the rushes, on the borders of 

 large lakes, or in the vicinity of the sea coast. The eggs are 2 to 4, 

 hatched by the female alone, who is fed by the male during this period, 

 but both at length join in the charge of the imbecile young, Avho 

 remain in the nest until fully fledged. 



