HERODIONES 29 



in flights of from three to thirty, which occasionally come inland. 

 In their flight "they generally form the letter V. They are found 

 here all the year round more or less, frequenting the most retired 

 parts of the bay, and are exceedingly shy and wary. These Pelicans 

 soar to an immense height, wheeling round and round, especially 

 when coming from a distance." 



I have not heard of the nesting of this species within our limits. 



Order VII. HERODIONES. 



This Order contains the Storks, Herons, Ibises and Spoonbills. 

 They are all marsh-loving birds, mostly of large size, and all have 

 long bills, necks and legs. The lower half of the tibial portion of 

 the leg is nearly always bare, and the toes are long with only 

 a small basal web as a rule, while the hind toe is jointed on a level 

 with the others in nearly every case ; the young are hatched help- 

 less and are dependent on their parents for a considerable time. The 

 Ibises and the Spoonbills have been considered by some authors, 

 especially by Garrod and Forbes, to be more closely allied to the 

 Wading Birds (Limicola), because of their scblzorhinal nasal bones, 

 but on the whole they seem to be better placed here. 



The principal anatomical characters are as follows : skull 

 desmognathous ; no basipterygoid processes ; nostrils pervious ; 

 two carotids ; caeca present, generally small ; oil gland tufted. 



The Order comprises six families, representatives of five of which 

 are found in South Africa. The sixth contains only the Whale- 

 headed Stork (Bal&niceps rex), a very curious type found only on 

 the upper Nile and Victoria Nyanza. 



Key of the Genera. 



A. Bill long, straight and more or less com- 

 pressed ; only the tip sometimes decurved. 

 a. A distinct basal web between both the 

 inner and middle and outer and middle 

 toes, most developed between the latter ; 

 claw of the middle toe not pectinated. 

 a 1 . Culmen more or less ridged and straight 

 throughout, not down-curved at the 

 tip. 



