THE AFRICAN SCOPUS 



stork. In another decisive point it is distinctly a heron. 

 Its " syrinx," the voice organ situated at the junction of 

 the two bronchi, to form the trachea or windpipe, is 

 heron-like in form, but it lacks the pair of muscles which 

 those birds have. Nevertheless, the muscle is repre- 

 sented by a vestige, a small ligamentous band, which 

 seems to show that in this feature, at any rate, the 

 Balceniceps is a heron on the down grade. Other points 

 taken collectively seem to argue that this bird is the 

 type of a quite separate family, showing likenesses to 

 both storks and herons. And there we must leave it 

 until more is known about its anatomy. 



THE TUFTED UMBRE 



The tufted umbre (Scopus umbrella] belongs to that 

 group of birds which we may accurately term plagi- 

 arising from, and misquoting a trifle, Mr. Rudyard 

 Kipling " Storkie & Co." It is in fact one of the 

 Ciconiiformes, as naturalists sometimes term this group. 

 The group contains not only our umbrette, but also all 

 the storks and herons and bitterns, and that slightly 

 aberrant bird, the great " Whale head," or Balczniceps, 

 of Africa. Scopus is a bird which is usually to be found 

 at the Zoo, and, when there, in the Eastern Aviary. It 

 is about the size of a raven and of a brown colour. It 

 has the long and strong bill of its allies, and a rather 

 crested head. Like herons in particular, the tufted 

 umbre has a melancholy demeanour ; it is addicted to 

 watching patiently with downcast head and eyes for 

 fishes, appearing as if brooding with sad reflection, as 

 Michelet has put it, over the past glories of its family. 

 This gloomy demeanour is at times relaxed, and Scopus 

 indulges in a wild and fantastic dance with outspread 

 wings, reminiscent of that of the cranes, who may be 

 frequently, especially towards evening, observed to 

 skip in similar dances at the Zoo. The bird is African 



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