'!2 BIRD (,Ai.i.i:m. 



tiie ILiiiimci'-liead, antl may thus ahvays be distiuguishei ou the wing 

 from Herons. Many of the species are migratory, the common White 

 Stork being a summer visitor to Europe, vvlierc it is carefully protected 

 and encouraged to build its nests ou the houses and in the gardens. 



A very large and striking species is the Saddle-billed iitor\i{Ephi/ipi(j- 

 rhynchus .setwgaleiis'is) (659), which inhabits Tro])ical Africa; and no 

 less liandsome in their way are the 1?lack-necked Jabiru (Xnwrhyu- 

 chus) (660) and its American ally {Mi/r/eri//) (661). The Open-billed 

 or Shell-Storks (Anastotnns) (664, 665) arc remarkable for their nut- 

 eracker-like bill, so well adapted for breaking open molluscs, which 

 fonu their prim/ipal food. The peculiar gap in the bill is not seen in 

 the young, but seems to develop as the birds get older. 



Passing over the White-necked .Stork (Dissura luicrosce/is) (663), with 

 its curiously deeply-forked tail, and the White-bellied Stork {Abd'unia 

 dhdimii) (662), which looks like a miniature Black Stcjrk, we come last 

 [Case 35. to the Wood-Ibises, a somewhat isolated group, of which an example 

 will bo foutid in the beautiful African species {Pseudotantalas ibis) 

 (666), with its striking uliite, black, and dull crimson plumage. 



Family V. IiiiniuE. Ibises. 



[Case ;i-"). The Ibises arc numerously represented, and all maybe readily dis- 

 tinguished from their near allies the Spoonbills and from the Storks 

 by the long, curved, "Curlew-like " bill, with the nasal groove extending 

 nearly to the extremity. The White and Scarlet Ibises, belonging to 

 the genus Eudocimus (667, 668), are striking American species, espe- 

 cially the latter. The (ilossy ibis {P/c(/(idis J'(ilciiic/!ii!<) (669) is of 

 special interest, having visited Great Britain on many occasions; and 

 other striking forms will be found in the crested Madagascar genus 

 {Luphotihi-s) (671), the African Iladadah Ibis {Haycdas/dii) (675), the 

 Wattled l\ns{Bostri/c/iiu) (674), and the curious straw-necked Australian 

 form (Carphibis) (677). The most interesting of all is, however, the 

 Sacred Ibis (Ibis (C'thiopica) (678), which was regarded with great 

 veneration by the ancient Egyptians, as is shown by the many mummies 

 of these birds found in the temples. 



Family VJ. Plaxaleid.e. Spoonbills. 



K'ase 36 I '^^^ Spoonbills, represented by three genera and several species, arc 

 at once di>tinguished from all the other long-legged Storks and Herons 

 by their remarkably shaped flattened bill. One of the handsomest is 

 the Roseate Spoonbill of America {JJaja) (679), and another striking 

 bird is the Australian ally {Platibiii) (680) ; but the most familiar is 

 the common species (Platalea leucerodia) (682), which once bred 



