THE BIRDS OF INDIA. 211 



THE STORKS. 



Fara i ly — Cicon idcu. 

 Genus — 



1. Leptoptilus. L. argala. Indian Adjutant. 



2. Pseiidotaritalus. P. IcucocepJialus. Indian Tantalus. 



Adjutant. — This well-known bird is common in North- 

 ern India, where it is migratory, arriving in April or May, 

 and departing again in September and October ; but a few 

 unmated or barren individuals remain in their usual haunts 

 all the year round, Thej'- are very familiar and fearless, 

 and are of common occurrence in the streets of Calcutta, 

 where it feeds on the offal of all kinds thrown from the 

 houses in the native quarter of the city. It also kills 

 snakes and rats, and generally comports itself like a 

 vulture, to which bird its almost bare neck and head give 

 it somewhat of a resemblance. 



The head, neck, and gular pouch are bare, with a few 

 short, reddish yellow hairs scattered over them. At the 

 point where the neck joins the breast, there is a ruff of 

 pure white downy feathers ; the upper plumage is grey, 

 and the lower almost white. The large bill is of a dull 

 pale green colour. 



The gular pouch has no connection with the gullet, but 

 is probably connected in some way with the bird's res- 

 piratory system. It increases in size with tlie age of the 

 individual, and is larger in the male than in the female. 



In full length, the adjutant measures about 5 feet. The 

 wings reach almost to the end of the tail, and the bird has 

 great power of flight, frequently soaring at a considerable 

 elevation for a long time together without apparent effort. 



It breeds among trees and on cliffs, and lays two white 

 esses. 



