288 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



fry of fish, which are readily taken by its beautifully organized 

 bill. 



But little difference exists in the outward appearance of 

 the sexes, both having the ornamental crest, which at the will 

 of the bird is spread out on all sides, and droops gracefully 

 over the back of the neck. 



The whole of the plumage is white ; bill, face, legs, and feet 

 black ; on the crown of the head and over each eye a trian- 

 gular mark of orange ; eye red. 



Total length 29 inches ; bill 8| ; wing 15 ; tail 5^ ; tarsi ^^. 



Genus PLATIBIS, Bonaparte. 



In my original account of the following species I mentioned 

 that it differed in many points from the typical members of 

 the ^enus Platalea, and had many characters in common with 

 the white Ibises of India and Africa, but did not venture to 

 make it the type of a new genus ; this, however, has since 

 been done by Bonaparte, and his name is here adopted. 



Sp. 542. PLATIBIS TLAVIPES, Gould. 



Yellow-legged Spoonbill. 



Platalea flavipes, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part v. p. 106. 

 Platibis flavipes, Bonap. Compt. Rend, de I'Acad. Sci., torn. xhii. 

 Seance du 2 Aout, 1856. 



Platalea flavipes, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vi. pi. 49. 



The rainy and luxuriant season which followed the drought 

 experienced in New South Wales in 1839 attracted to that 

 part of Australia, among many other rare birds, numerous 

 flocks of the present species ; in fact, so plentiful was it, that 

 there was scarcely a brook or lagoon from the Hunter to the 

 Lower Naomi that was not tenanted by numbers of this bird ; 

 in most instances accompanied by Straw-necked and White 

 Ibises {Carphibis spinicoUis and Threskiornis strictipenMs). 



