596 ARDEID.E. 



brown ; the head, neck all round, upper surface of the 

 body, wings, and wing-coverts, are glossy black, varied 

 with blue, purple, copper-coloured and green reflections ; 

 the primary quill-feathers and the tail black ; the whole 

 of the under surface of the body, from the bottom of the 

 neck to the ends of the under tail-coverts, white ; the legs 

 and toes orange red ; the claws black. 



There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. 



The whole length of the specimen killed in Dorsetshire, 

 was three feet four inches. From the carpal joint to the 

 end of the wing, twenty-one inches ; the length of the beak 

 from the point to the angle of the gape, seven inches ; 

 length of the middle toe four inches ; of the tarsus eight 

 inches ; of the naked part above, four inches and a half. 



The colours in this specimen, which were not those of 

 mature age, are thus described. Head and neck dusky 

 brown ; wings, tail, and back, black or dusky brown, with 

 purple reflections ; lower part of breast and belly white ; 

 bill and orbits bright orange ; irides hazel ; legs and toes 

 pale red. 



According to M. Temminck, in very young birds the 

 beak, the naked skin around the eyes, and the legs, are 

 olive green, the head and neck being then of a reddish 

 brown. 



Montagu's correspondence with the gentleman from 

 whom he obtained his Black Stork, will be found in the 

 Zoologist for 1850, page 2700, communicated by the late 

 Wm. Baker, of Bridgewater, himself an excellent natu- 

 ralist. 



