SCOPIDJS. 295 



The iris is brown ; the bill, legs, and toes black, with 

 a slight tinge of grey. 



PLATALEIDJE. 



347. Platalea tenuirostris (Temm.). Slender-billed Spoonbill. 



Leueorodia tenuirostris, Reichenbach's Prakt. Nat. Vog. pis. 435 



&437. 



Platalea tenuirostris, Layard's Cat. No. 594. 

 Platalea leucorodia, Chapman's Travels in S. Afr., App. p. 419. 

 Platalea tenuirostris, Finsch & Hartlaub's Vb'gel Ost-Afrika's, p. 718. 



This species occasionally visits Damara Land, chiefly 

 during the rainy season, when I have reason to believe 

 that it also occurs, though less frequently, in Great 

 Namaqua Land. At Lake Ngami and its watersheds it 

 is by no means an uncommon bird. 



It is generally observed in small flocks; and where 

 not much disturbed, it is not particularly shy. It feeds 

 on fish, shrimps, small mollusca, &c. ; and the stomach 

 of one which I dissected contained a large number of 

 beetles, chiefly aquatic. 



In the adult of this species the forehead and chin are 

 naked and smooth ; the former is bright red, merging on 

 the sides of the gape into yellow, which is also the colour 

 of the chin; the upper mandible of the bill is livid, 

 except the base and a narrow space along the edges, 

 which are reddish ; the lower mandible is a slaty black, 

 with small yellow spots and yellow edges ; the legs and 

 toes are bright scarlet. 



In the immature bird the iris is greyish ; the bill bluish 



