2076 HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES 



and swamps; but it is so shy, and at the same time generally so rare, that but little 

 is known of its habits. 



The largest, and at the same time by far the ugliest, of the storks 



jutan or are ^ a( jj utants or marabous of the Oriental region and Africa, which 

 Marabou 

 Stork apparently derive their military title from their measured walk. These 



ungainly birds are primarily distinguished by the presence of a large, 

 naked, pendulous pouch on the front of the throat, which may measure as much as 

 sixteen inches, and has no connection with the gullet, although probably communi- 

 cating with the respiratory organs. They are further characterized by the large 

 body, thick and naked neck, by the head being either bare or thinly clad with down, 

 and by the enormous size of the beak, which is very thick, four-sided, and somewhat 

 wedge shaped, with a sharp point. The legs are of great length. The whole plum- 

 age is rough and untidy looking; the large and rounded wings have the fourth quill 

 the longest; while the moderately-long tail is characterized by the great development 

 of its under coverts, which form the well-known marabou or comercolly feathers. 

 Our illustration represents the African species {Leptoptilus crumeniferus} , known to 

 the Arabs as abu stin (father of the leather bottle*), in which the head is reddish 

 flesh color, sprinkled over with short hair-like feathers. The plumage of the back 

 is a dark metallic green, while that of the neck and under parts is pure white; the 

 quills of the wing and tail being black and lustreless, and the greater wing coverts 

 having their outer webs bordered with white. The iris is brown, the beak a dirty 

 whitish yellow, and the leg and foot black, generally with a superficial coating of 

 white. The total length of a male is about sixty-three inches. In India and the 

 Burmese countries the genus is represented by the great Indian adjutant (L. du- 

 bius), of which there is a larger and a smaller race; while the Javan adjutant (L. 

 javanicus) is a smaller Oriental species. Remains of extinct adjutants occur in 

 the Pliocene rocks of the north of India, and probably in the Miocene deposits of 

 France. 



In India the adjutant is a summer visitant, arriving toward the close of the hot 

 weather about the end of April or May, and remaining -through the rainy season till 

 October. It is, however, a somewhat local bird, being most common in Bengal and 

 the northeastern districts, and well known to all residents in Calcutta, where these 

 birds are in the habit of perching in numbers on the parapets of Government House 

 during the rains. They breed in Burma and the Malayan countries, a favorite nest- 

 ing place being some lofty scarped limestone rocks called the Nidong hills on the 

 Attaran river, to the southeast of Moulmein. On account of their value as scaven- 

 gers, these birds are protected by law in Calcutta and some other Indian cities, noth- 

 ing seeming to come amiss to them in the way of food, from the carcass of a large 

 animal to a dead cat, or from small birds to frogs and fish. Adjutants generally 

 congregate in vast flocks, although in the neighborhood of towns solitary birds may 

 often be observed, either stalking about alone or standing with outspread wings to 

 dry their plumage, or perched on one leg while asleep on some building or tree. 

 Their flight, although heavy and flapping, is powerful in the extreme, and they 



* This is the derivation given by Brehm; but Sir S. Baker says that the name is abu seen, or father of the beak. 



