AVES. 67 



lower part of the tibia more or less naked : middle claw 

 with the inner margin pectinated : wings ample ; second 

 and third quills longest. 



(1. ARDEA.) Bill longer than the head, the upper mandible nearly 

 straight : occiput usually ornamented with a pendent crest : neck 

 slender, elongated. 



(2. BOTAURUS.) Bill scarcely longer than the head, higher than 

 broad at the base, very much compressed; upper mandible 

 slightly curved : neck thick, rather short ; the feathers on the 

 fore part loose and elongated, capable of erection ; those behind 

 short and downy. 



(3. NYCTICORAX.) Bill scarcely longer than the head, higher than 

 broad, much compressed ; upper mandible slightly curved : occi- 

 put with three very long subulate feathers : neck thickish, rather 

 short. 



70. CICONIA. Bill much longer than the head, 

 straight, robust, cylindrical, acute, forming a lengthened 

 cone ; upper mandible convex above ; under mandible in- 

 clining a little upwards at the tip : nostrils nearly basal, 

 open, longitudinally pierced in the horny substance of the 

 bill : orbits naked : tarsi very long : a considerable part 

 of the tibia naked : claws short, depressed, not pecti- 

 nated : wings moderate ; third, fourth, and fifth quills 

 longest. 



71. PLATALEA. Bill very long, robust, much 

 depressed, dilated and rounded at the extremity in the 

 form of a spatula : nostrils dorsal, oblong, open, bordered 

 by a membrane : head and face more or less naked : tibia? 

 semiplumed : tarsi long : the three anterior toes united as 

 far as the second joint by a deeply cut membrane : wings 

 moderate; second quill longest. 



72. IBIS. Bill very much elongated, slender, arcuate, 

 broad at the base, somewhat quadrangular, the tip depressed, 

 obtuse, and rounded ; upper mandible deeply channelled 

 throughout its whole length : nostrils nearly basal, placed 

 in the groove, oblong, narrow, surrounded by a membrane : 

 face and throat more or less naked : legs long, and slender ; 

 lower part of the tibia naked : wings moderate ; second and 

 third quills longest. 



E2 



