GLOSSY IBIS. 



HERODIONES. 



231 



IBIDIDM. 



Plegadis falcinellus (Linnaeus*). 



THE GLOSSY IBIS. 



Ihi8 falcinellus. 



Plegadis, Kaupj: — Beak long, slender, decurved, large at the base, the 

 point depressed, obtuse, rounded ; upper mandible deeply grooved throughout 

 its length. Nostrils on the upper surface and near the base of the beak, oblong, 

 narrow, pierced, in a membrane which covers part of the aperture. Face and 

 lores naked, without feathers. Legs rather long, naked above the tarsal joint ; 

 three toes in front, one behind ; the anterior toes united by a membrane ; hind 

 toe long, and resting its length on the ground. Tail of twelve feathers, moiicrate, 

 even. Wings moderate ; the first quill-feather shorter than the second and third, 

 which are the longest in the wing. Pterylosis more or less stork-like, wanting 

 the powder-down trp.cts of the Herons. 



* Tantalus Falcinellus, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 241 (176()). 

 t Natiir. System, p. 82 (1829) ; from irXrjyai, a sickle. 



