2054 



HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES 



long, powerful, and generally sharp-pointed beak; but whereas 

 in the majority of the group the hinder end of the mandible is 

 truncated, this is not the case with the ibises. Mostly birds of 

 considerable size, the members of this order all have long and 

 powerful wings, while in habits they are essentially waders and 

 they generally nest in trees. Externally, herons and storks 

 present a marked general similarity to cranes but, as we shall 

 see in the sequel, the latter differ in the structure of the palate, 

 in their "precocious" young, and also in the conformation of I ' OWER END OF THE 



, , LEFT CANON BONE 



the bones of the leg. In the canon bone the two outer troch- OF THE INDIAN WOOD 

 leae are of nearly equal length. STORK. 



THE HERON TRIBE 

 Family ARDEIDA? 



The members of this family have the body thin and much compressed, the 

 neck generally long and thin, and the beak straight, narrow, and pointed, with the 



grooves in which the nostrils are placed 

 stopping short of its extremity, and its 

 cutting edges serrated at the tip. * On the 

 chin the feathering generally or always ex- 

 tends considerably in advance of the line of 

 the nostrils. The leg is of medium length, 

 with the front surface of the metatarsus 

 covered with more or less scute-like plates, 

 the toes are mostly three, and the claw of 

 the third one is pectinated on the inner side. 

 The wings, although large, are somewhat 

 blunt at the tip, owing to the second, third, 

 and fourth quills being nearly equal in 

 length. The short and rounded tail has 

 either ten or twelve feathers, and there are 

 bare spaces round the eyes and on the lores. 

 The presence of a so-called powder-down 

 patch of crumbly downy feathers on each 

 side of the rump is absolutely characteristic 

 of the family; and there are no bare tracts 

 on the sides of the neck. The general 



plumage, which is very variable in color, is soft and loose; the feathers on the crown 

 of the head, back, and upper breast being frequently elongated. Externally the two 

 sexes are chiefly distinguishable by difference of size. In the skeleton the lower 

 mandible is not produced posteriorly to its articulation with the skull; and the 



FURCUIA OF HERON. 



* The boatbill is exceptional in the form of the head and beak. 



