160 



Lath., Ind. Orn. 2. 699. 7S. Le Heron f'iolet, Buff., Ois. 7. 

 370. Heroti de la cSte de Coromandel, Buff., PI. Enl. 906, 

 Violet Heron. Kandehsur or Kowruw of the Mahrattas. 

 It is singular that this well-marked bird should have been classed 

 as a Heron for a long period, and remain as such at the pre- 

 sent moment in Shavv. Length, inclusive of tail, 33 to 34§ 

 inches : tail 8 inches. 

 Mostly seen on open stony plains or in plouglied fields. Food 

 chiefly grasshoppers. Monogamous. Irides scarlet, margined 

 with a narrow circle of black and an exterior circle of yel- 

 lowish. 



185. Ciconia Argala, Steph., vol. H. p. 622. Ardea dubia, Gmel., 



1. 624'. Ardea Argala, Latli. 

 Is met vvith in Dukhun ; but Col. Sykes has not a specimen. Called 

 the Adjutant by Europeans, frono ils stiff soldier-hke strut. 



Genus Anastomus, 111. Courly. 



186. Anastomus Typus, Temm. An. Coromandelianus, Steph., 11. 



632. Ardea Coromandelica (l'adulte) et Ponticeriana (le 

 jeune), Temm. Le bec ouvert des Indės, Sonn , Voy. 2. pi. 

 in p. 219. Buff , Ois. 7. 409. Pi. Enl. 932. Cinereous Musele- 

 catcher. 

 Irides bright yellow. Length, inclusive of tail, 32 to 33 inches: 



tail 6\ to 6j inches. 

 Buffon's figure is excellent. Lives on the animals of a nevv and 

 large species of Unio. The ston)ach of this bird is not less re- 

 markable than its bill : the lašt exhibiting a beautiful adapta- 

 tion of means to their end ; the form of the mandibles enabling 

 the bird to hold and open the bivalve shell of the Unio. So- 

 litary. 

 The proportional length of the intestinal canal exceeds that of 

 any other bird in the order Grallatorcs, in one specimen being 

 five times the length of the body, neck and bill inclusive. 



Genus Tantalus, Linn. 



187. Tantalus leucocephalus, Lath., Ind. Orn. 2. 706- Le Tantale 



de Ceylon, Cuv., Regne Anim. 1.481. JV/iite-headed Ibis. 

 Irides yellovv. Length, inclusive of tail, 40^ to 43 inches : tail 



64- inches. 

 A large diajjhanous spot on each side of the base of the upper 



niandible before the eyes does not appear to have been noticcd 



in the description of the bird. 

 The generic characters, if this bird be made the type, require 



modification. The stomachsof threebirds were distended with 



fibrous vegetable matters in a comminuted statė. A fourth 



liad the šame vegetable matters and the half of a carp 9 iijches 



long. 



Genus Ibis, La Cep. Ibis. 



188. Ibis religiosa, Cuv,, Regnc Anim. 1. 483. Sacred Ibis. L' Ibis 



sacrc, Cuv., Rccherchcs sur les Osscmens Fossiles, 1. 161. 



