ANASTOMOUS. 277 



Length. — 40 — 42 inches, expanse 71, wing 20, tail 6-25, tarsus 8*10. 



Hub. — Sind and throughout India, frequenting rivers, tanks, marshes, 

 &c. Breeds in the Province from May to August. Eggs 3 — 4, 

 glossless, dull white, with a thick compact shell. 



Sub-Family PLATALEIN^,— Spoonbills. 

 Bill flat, spathulate, long and rounded at the tip. 



Gen. Platalea.— im. 



Bill thin, flat, dilated and rounded at the tip (spathulate) other- 

 wise as in Tantalus ; toes connected by a small membrane extending 

 as far as the second joint of the outer and the first joint of the inner 

 one. 



Platalea leucorodia, Lin.; P. E. 405 ; Gould. B.Eur, pi. 286; 

 Jerd. B. Ind. iii. p. 763 ; Murray, Hdlik., ZouL, Sj-c, Sind. p. 229.^— 

 The Spoonbill. 



Plumage pure white, except a bufiy yellow patch on the upper 

 breast, extending sometimes on to the back ; orbitar skin orange 

 yellow, also the skin of the gullet ; head crested ; bfll black, spotted 

 or barred with yellowish ; the tip yellowish during winter ; irides 

 blood red ; legs black. 



Length.—Sl to 36 inches, wing 14 to 16, tail 6*25 to 6*5, bill at 



front 7 to 8-5. 



Yuung. — With the shafts and tips of primaries black. 



Hah. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan and throughout 



India, frequenting rivers, lakes, &c. 



Sub-Family ANASTOMIN^. 

 Bill thick, stout, gaping in the middle. 



Gen. Anastomous.— 7Z%er. 

 Bill long, curved, thick, solid, gaping in the middle, compressed at 

 the sides ; tail nearly even ; nostrils basal, at the edge of the upper 

 mandible ; tarsi reticulated; tibia naked for half its length; toes webbed 

 at the base. 



Anastomous OSCitans, BocM. ; P. E. 932; Jerd. B. Ind. iii. p. 765, 

 No. 940; 8tr. F. iv. 212; Murray, Hdhk., ZooL, S^-c, Sind, p. 229.— 

 The Shell Ibis. 



Young. — Plumage light grey, darker on the head and neck, the fea- 

 thers on the latter hair-like ; upper back, scapulars, primaries and 

 secondaries, also the winglet and tail black, with purple reflections ; 

 nude skin of the chin and front of the eyes greenish black ; in a later 

 stage of plumage the head, sides of the face, nape and neck behind 

 are dusky brown, the feathers short; neck in front, breast, lower parts, 

 back, wing-coverts and tail pure white, the primaries and secondaries, 

 also ; their shafts black, also the shafts of the winglet ; the first three 

 primaries broadly margined with black on their outer and inner webs, 

 their tips black ; the inner webs of the primaries margined only to 



