GRALLATORI.E. ooif 



the naked skin of the head and neck, blackish. It inhabits both 

 Americas, arriving in each country about the rainy season, and fre- 

 quenting muddy waters, where it chiefly hunts for eels. It is a 

 stupid bird, whose gait is very slow. 



T. ibis, L. ; Enl. 339. (The Wood- Pelican of Africa). White, 

 lightly shaded with purple on the wings; bill yellow; skin of the 

 face red and naked. This is the bird which has long been consi- 

 dered by naturalists as the Ibis of the ancient Egyptians, but recent 

 researches have proved that the Ibis is a much smaller bird, of which 

 we shall speak hereafter. This Tantalus is not even usually found 

 in Egypt; the specimens we possess are brought from Senegal. 



T. leucocephalus ; Tantale de Ceylan, Encyc. Method. Orn. pi. 

 6&, fig. 1; Vieill. Gal. 247, (The Wood-Pelican of Ceylon . is the 

 largest of all, and has the stoutest bill. This bill, and the skin of 

 the face are yellow; plumage white, with black quills; a black cine- ■ 

 ture round the breast; long rose-coloured feathers on the rump, 

 which are shed during the rainy season*. 



PLATALEAf, Lin. 



The Spoonbills approximate to the Storks in the whole of their struc- 

 ture; but their bill, whence they derive their name, is long, flat, broad 

 throughout, becoming widened and flattened, particularly at the end, so as 

 to form a spatula-like disk ; two shallow grooves, originating at its base, 

 extend almost to the end, but without being parallel to its edges. The nos- 

 trils are oval, and situated at a short distance from the origin of each groove. 

 Their small tongue, reticulated legs, the extent of the membranes of their 

 feet, their two very small caeca, their but slightly muscular gizzard, and 

 their lower larynx destitute of peculiar muscles, are the same as in the 

 Storks, but the expansion of their bill deprives it of all its strength, and 

 renders it fit for nothing but turning up mud, or capturing small fish or 

 aquatic insects. 



P. leucorodia, Gm. ; Enl. 405 ; Naum. Supp. 44, f. 87. (The 

 White Spoonbill). All white, and a crest on the occiput; it is found 

 throughout the eastern continent, where it builds on high trees. 

 The " Spatule blanche sans huppe,'" Buff. Hist, des Ois. tom. VII, 

 pi. 24, according to Bail, is but the young of this species. Besides 

 the absence of the crest, it is distinguished by the quills of the wings 

 having a black edge. 



P. aiaia; La Spatule rose, Enl. 165; Vieill. Gal. 248. (The 

 Roseate Spoonbill). The face is naked, and the plumage tinged 

 with various shades of a bright rose-colour, which becomes more in- 

 tense with age. It is peculiar to South America. 



* Add tlie T. lac eiis, T. Col. 352. 



t Plutalea, or PUilea, Latin names, sometimes used as synonymous with Pdicanus. 



E E 2 



