292 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



chestnut and purplish brown, the latter colour appearing as if 

 beneath the surface of the shell. 



Its food consists of insects, lizards, bulbous roots and va- 

 rious other vegetable substances, in search of which it tears 

 up the earth with great facility with its powerful bill. 



The sexes are alike in colouring, but may be distinguished 

 by the smaller size of the female. 



The general plumage deep silvery grey ; the feathers of the 

 back dark brownish grey with silvery -grey edges ; lesser 

 wing-coverts dark brown ; primaries black ; crown of the 

 head and bill oliVe-green, the bill becoming lighter towards 

 the tip ; irides fine orange-yellow ; raised fleshy papillas sur- 

 rounding the ears and the back of the head fine coral-red, 

 passing into an orange tint above and below the eye, and be- 

 coming less brilliant on the sides of the face, which together 

 with the gular pouch is covered with fine black hairs, so 

 closely set on the latter as almost to conceal the red colouring 

 of the skin : upper part of the pouch and the bare skin 

 beneath the lower mandible olive-green ; in old males the 

 gular pouch is very pendulous, and forms a conspicuous appen- 

 dage ; legs and feet purplish black. 



Total length 48 inches; bill 6^; wing 24; tail 9^; 

 tarsi 10^. 



Family CICONID-aE. 



Species of this family inhabit Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

 America. Generally speaking, they are large and powerful 

 birds, and in most countries migratory. Like the Cranes, 

 they are rather limited in the number of species, about twelve 

 being all that are known. Most of these are migratory, and 

 one of them at least — the Common Stork of Europe — period- 

 ically performs very extensive journeys ; and the inhabitants 

 of Holland can calculate almost to a day when the bird will 

 arrive there in spring. y 



