DARTER. 69 
Adult male—General colour above and below glossy blue-black ; a broad white 
band on each side of the head enclosing the eye and extending on to the sides of the 
upper neck; naked part of throat edged with white; a large patch of chestnut 
on the fore-neck ; the feathers on the lower hind-neck and upper mantle more or 
less chestnut at the base; scapulars and wing-coverts centred with white; quills 
and tail-feathers uniform black, the two central tail-feathers being transversely 
waved ; innermost secondaries and tail-feathers ribbed. Bill olive-green, base of 
upper mandible brown, base of lower mandible and bare skin yellow ; iris pale 
yellow ; feet whitish-brown, toes darker. Total length 890 mm. ; culmen 79, wing 
347, tail 217, tarsus 48. 
Adult female-—Head and hind-neck dark brown, becoming paler on the latter 
and everywhere mixed with white, a white line from the cheeks extending down the 
sides of the neck ; middle of back rust-brown ; scapulars dark brown centred with 
white ; wing-coverts brown, or black, also centred with white, major coverts black 
and white; bastard-wing, primary-coverts and quills uniform slaty-black, the 
innermost secondaries white on the outer webs ; tail, centre feathers silvery-grey, 
the outer ones darker and more slate-grey ; chin, throat, and entire under-surface 
bufiy-white, a black patch on each side of the breast ; outer edge of wing buffy- 
white. Bill bluish-grey, yellowish-grey below; iris pale yellow; feet creamy- 
yellow. Culmen 67 mm., wing 357, tail 230, tarsus 44. 
Immature male (bird of the first year) —Similar to the adult female, but differs in 
being darker on the back, the throat and fore-neck buff, the crown of head and hind- 
neck much darker brown, and the white streak on the cheeks distinctly outlined, as 
also the white edges to the feathers of the throat. 
Immature male (second year) —This bird shows an advance of plumage by being 
darker on the head, hind-neck, and entire back ; the lower fore-neck is black, dark 
feathers are distributed over the under-surface, and the under tail-coverts are mixed 
with rufous. 
Immature male (third year) —This individual is very nearly in the adult plumage, 
but still retains the brown of the immature on the top of the head and hind-neck ; 
the rufous on the fore-neck is more extensive and is intermixed with the black of the 
throat, and the white on the chin and sides of the head is well developed. 
Nestling —Covered with white down below and rusty-red on the neck and wing- 
coverts The head and throat bare ; on the sides of the neck the white streak is just 
noticeable. Wings and tail black, tipped with buff. 
Nest.—A platform composed of twigs and lined with leaves, about 16 in. across ; 
usually placed in low trees. 
Eggs.—Clutch, three or four; ground-colour greenish, covered with a coating 
of whitish lime ; axis 54-58 mm., diameter 33-36. 
Breeding-season.—October to January. (East Australia.) February and 
March. (North-west Australia.) May and June. (Northern Territory.) 
Distribution and forms—Australia and the islands north. Forms at present 
accurately indefinable owing to scarcity of material. 
SuPERFAMILY PELECANOIDEA. 
Only one family of very large birds is included in the superfamily, the distinc- 
tion, obvious at sight, being the extraordinary development of the bill with the huge 
gular pouch ; the birds have large stout bodies, being heavily built, with strong 
large feet to support them. The tail is evenly rounded of many stiff feathers. They 
are distributed through the tropical and temperate regions of both Worlds. 
The osteological features of the skull agree somewhat with the superficial 
characteristics ; thus the palate is desmognathous, in fact, doubly so, for the palatines 
are anchylosed behind the posterior nares, while the nostrils are holorhinal, and there 
