Synopsis of Orders and Families. 



AMERICAN FLAMINGO. 



Family 16. FLAMINGOES. PHOENICOPTERID/E. 

 Characters of the Family similar to those of the Order. 



Order VII. Herons, Bitterns, Ibises, 



HERODIONES. 



and Spoonbills. 



(4 families, 19 species, 3 subspecies.) 



Long-legged wading birds, generally found along shores or on 

 muddy flats; bill variable; in the Herons straight and sharply pointed; 

 in the Ibises, slender, rounded, and curved downward; in the Spoon- 

 bill, flattened: wings rounded; tail short; legs long; toes all on same 

 level, long, slender, without webs. Herons and Bitterns fly with a 

 fold in the neck, the head being drawn in; Ibises and Spoonbills fly 

 with the neck straight, the head being extended. 



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