Descriptive List of the Common Birds 



221. Anastomus oscitans : The Open-Bill. 

 The Shell Ibis of the older writers. (F. 1553), 

 (J. 940), ( + V ; nearly 3 feet long.) 



This bird is distinguished from all others by 

 the fact that the mandibles do not meet in the 

 middle ; indeed the beak looks as though it had 

 become distorted owing to the attempts of 

 the bird to crack a very hard nut ! (The head 

 is figured on p. 378, F. IV.) It is a greyish 

 white bird with black shoulders, wings, and 

 tail. The bill is Hght horn colour, and the 

 legs dirty pink. 



To my mind this bird looks like a white 

 stork that sadly needs a wash and brush up 

 and its beak put straight ! 



Found only in N. India. Abundant in 

 Oudh and Bengal. 



The Herons^ 222-225 



Herons are wading birds with long, sharp, 

 stiletto-like bills and telescopic necks. It is 

 their habit to stand motionless in shallow 

 water with the head almost buried on the 

 shoulders. When a victim shows itself, out 

 shoots the neck of the fisher, and woe betide 

 his victim ! On the wing herons are easily 

 identified by their large size, the steady flap- 

 221 



