166 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



times on the tops of lioiiscs, now and then on trees, anil frequently on the ground, 

 resting often on the wliole leg (tarsus). The adjutant occasionally may seize a crow 

 or a inyna, or even, as related, a small cat; but these are rare bits for it, and indeed 

 it lias not the o]i|iortunity, in general, of indulging its taste for living birds, notwith- 

 standing Cuvicr's statement that its large l)eak enables it to eajiture birds on the 

 wing." 





Flo. 82. — EphippiorhyitchiU ttnegatenBia, soddlo-bUled stork. 



The name of o]>en-l>ill is suggested by a glance at tlie bird illustrati'd in the accom- 

 panying cut. Towards the end of the beak the lateral maigiiis of the mandibles are 

 sejiarated by a more or less oj>en space, as if tiiey were worn away, so as to assume 

 ihe shape of a ]«:iir of ]«inehers. The gap between the maniliVdes is said to exist even 

 in the yo\uig individuals, thus not being the result of attrition, as is generally su]>- 

 posed, and the curious shape is believed to be "a i)rovision of nature to enable them 

 to open the shells of the Unio, on which they feed." Their principal food being 



