INTRODUCTION. XXV 



base, compressed towards the point, which is slightly curved ; edges of the 

 mandibles serrated ; angle of the gape behind the line of the eyes. Face 

 and throat naked. Nostrils basal, obliterated. Wings long, first quill the 

 longest. Tail wedge-shape. Legs strong, short, placed rather backward ; 

 three toes in front, and ahind toe, articulated to the inner surface of the 

 tarsus, all four united by membranes ; claw of the middle toe pectinated 

 (P- 353)- 



Order HERODIONES. 



Family ARDEID.E. 

 Ardea, B}-isson. — Bill long, strong, straight, compressed in a lengthened cone ; 

 upper mandible slightly channelled, ridge rounded. Nostrils lateral, basal, 

 pierced longitudinally in the groove, and half closed by a membrane. Wings 

 moderate, the second quill the longest. Tail of twelve feathers, short, nearly 

 even. Legs long, slender, naked above the tarsal joint ; tarsi scutellate in 

 front ; three toes in front, the outer united to the middle one by a distinct 

 membrane, one toe behind, directed inwards ; claws long, compressed, 

 sharp, the middle claw pectinated on the inside (p. 355). 



Nycticorax, Stephens. — Bill about the same length as the head, bulky, strong, 

 broad, and dilated at the base ; upper mandible slightly bending and curved 

 at the point ; under mandible straight. Nostrils longitudinal, lateral, but 

 little in advance of the base of the beak, naked, placed in a groove, and 

 partly covered by a naked membrane ; lore and orbits naked. Tail of twelve 

 broad and moderately hard feathers. Legs of moderate length, naked for a 

 short cbstance above the tarsal joint ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, with 

 hexagonal scutellee in front ; the outer and middle toe united by a membrane ; 

 claws short, that of the middle toe pectinated (p. 367). 



Ardetta, G. /v'. Gray. — Bill longer than the head, slender, pointed, gape-line 

 straight. Nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal ; space in front of the eye bare. 

 Wing broad, rather rounded ; the second quill barely longer than the first, . 

 and a little longer than the third. Tail of ten soft feathers, short and 

 rounded. Legs rather short, the tibia feathered nearly to the joint ; tarsus 

 anteriorly scutellate ; toes moderately long and slender, the middle toe 

 shorter than the tarsus and its claw pectinated on the inner edge (p. 369). 



BoTAURUS, Stephens. — Bill rather longer than the head, strong, higher than broad, 

 the mandibles of equal length, upper mandible curved downwards. Nostrils 

 basal, linear, longitudinal, lodged in a furrow, and partly covered by a naked 

 membrane. Wing long, rather rounded, the first three quills the longest and 

 nearly equal. Tail of ten soft feathers. Legs of moderate length ; tarsi 

 scutellate ; toes long and slender, all unequal, the middle toe as long as the 

 tarsus ; hind toe long, articulated with the interior toe and on the same 

 plane ; claws long, that of the middle toe pectinated (p. 371). 



Family CICONIID/E. 



CicOMA, Brisson. — Bill longer than the head, straight, strong, and pointed. 



Nostrils pierced longitudinally in the horny substance. Eyes surrounded by 



a naked skin. Wings rather large, the first quill-feather shorter than the 



second, the third and fourth quills the longest in the wing. Plumage without 



