SPOONBILL. 159 



ends of the under tail-coverts, white ; legs and toes, 

 orange-red ; the claws black. 



SPOONBILLS. 



IN the genus, which we place next, we find hirds 

 possessing the form, and many of the habits, of the 

 herons ; the bill lengthened, but instead of that mem- 

 ber being sharp-pointed and rough on the edges, 

 fitted for darting at and securing a slippery and 

 sometimes strong prey, we see it depressed, endowed 

 with sensibility, and modelled somewhat upon the 

 plan of the bill among the ducks. 



PLATALEA. Generic characters. Bill long, 



O' 



straight, depressed, very flat, dilated towards 

 the tip ; nostrils basal, placed above, and near 

 each other ; legs long, naked above the tarsal 

 joint ; toes before partially webbed, posterior 

 toe articulated slightly above the plane of the 

 others ; claws short, not serrated ; wings long, 

 second quill longest ; head often crested. 



Types, P. leucorodia, ajaja, &c. 



Note. Gregarious, breed on trees, sometimes 

 swim. Europe, Asia, America. 



