DISSOLRA. 159 



132. PLATALEA MINOR Temminck and Schlegel. 



LESSER SPOONBILL. 



Platalea minor Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica Aves (1850), 120, 

 pi. 76; Shakpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. ( 1898), 26, 50; Hand-List (1889), 

 1, 188; McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1906), 1, 766. 

 Luzon (Banks). Korea, Japan, China, and Formosa. 



''Adult male. — Entirely white with a small but full nuchal crest ; bare 

 foreliead black, the black skin extending just behind the eye and occupy- 

 ing the sides of the face, fore parts of cheeks, and upper throat, on 

 which the white feathers impinge in a triangular form in the center; a 

 yellow spot in front of the eye. 'Bill slate-color, transverse!}^ bailed 

 with black, the bars broken and disconnected on the spatule; apical edge 

 Ijlack, succeeded by a patch and scattered spots of orange-ocher over the 

 spatule, which is also freckled with light slate-color; inside of mouth 

 deep indigo-black; inside of nostrils ocherous: bare skin of face black, 

 with a bright yellow-ocher patch l>efore eye. extending over under lid, and 

 a thin line over upper lid; legs purplish black; iris blood-red.' {Swin- 

 liof.) Length, 685 ; culmen, 183 ; wing, 371 ; tail, 107 ; tarsus, 1<?1. 



"Adult female. — Similar to the male. 'Bill flesh-color, longitudinally 

 streaked and speckled with blackish, mottled and freckled with slate- 

 color, cliiefly about the spatule; bare skin of face dull purplish brown; 

 feet purplish black; iris yellowish l)rown.' (Swinlioe.) Length, 660; 

 culmen, 185; wing, 356; tail, 10"?; tarsus, 119. 



"Young. — Differs from the adults in having a more yellowish bill, and" 

 blackish shaft-stripes to the quills; outer primaries blackish at ends of 

 outer webs." (Sharpe.) 



Mr. Charles S. Banks of the Bureau of Science brought the head of 

 a spoonbill from Dagupan, Luzon, where he found this species not ini- 

 common in November, 1907. While I have referred this specimen to 

 Platalea minor its specific identity is uncertain. 



Suborder CIOONI.E. 



Family CICONIID^. 



Bill long, stout, compressed, and tapering, tip pointed ; culmen straight 

 except at the tip; nostril pervious in a slit ; wing large; secondaries longer 

 than primaries; tail short; tarsus about as long as culmen and covered 

 with small hexagonal scales; liind toe about half the length of inner toe; 

 nails sliort and I)lunt. 



Subfamily CICONIIN.^. 



Genus DISSOURA Cabanis, 1850. 

 Character same as those given for the Familv. 



