PLATALEA. BIRDS. 295 



C. cochlearia, Lin. The Boat-bill. Plumage above cinereous ; bel- 

 ly rufous ; a long black pendant crest on the occiput ; a black 

 spot on the base of the neck ; bill dusky. 22 inches long, bill 4 

 inches. Inhabits South America. Shaw, xi. pi. 51. The only 

 species of the genus. 



Gen. 18. PLATALEA, Lin. 



Bill very long, much flattened, dilated towards the extremity, 

 and rounded like a spoon or spatula ; upper mandible chan- 

 nelled, and transversely sulcated at the base ; nostrils ap- 

 proximated, oblong, open, bordered with a membrane ; face 

 and head wholly or partially naked ; legs long ; the three 

 anterior toes connected to the second joint by deeply cut 

 membranes ; the hinder one long, and bearing on the ground. 



Spoonbills live in society, subsisting on small fish and their spawn, on frogs, and 

 other small reptiles, fluviatile testacea, and aquatic insects. They undergo one re- 

 gular moulting in the year, and are migratory. They are but thinly dispersed over 

 various parts of the world. 



P. leucorodia, Lin. (P. nivea, Cuv.) White Spoonbill. Plumage 

 pure white, with the exception of the breast, on which is a large 

 patch of reddish-yellow ; naked space round the eyes and throat, 

 pale yellow ; a crest on the occiput of long subulate yellowish- 

 white feathers. 2^ feet long, bill 8^ inches. Inhabits Europe. 

 B. Shaw, xi. pi. 52. 

 The other known species of this genus are the PL tenuirostris and azaza. 



Gen. 19- TANTALUS, Lin. Tern. 



Bill very long, straight, without a nasal furrow, ciliated at the 

 tip, which is curved ; upper mandible arched, the base broad, 

 sides dilated, tip compressed and cylindrical ; edges of both 

 mandibles much inflected and sharp ; face naked ; nostrils 

 longitudinally cleft in the corneous substance ; legs very long, 

 tarsus double the length of the middle toe ; lateral toes unit- 

 ed by a broad scalloped membrane. 



T. loculator, li\n. Wood Tantalus. Plumage white ; quills and 

 tail black ; thighs and legs dusky ; skin of the fore part of the 

 head and round the eyes black ; that of the neck dusky-brown, 

 rough and warty. 3 feet long, bill nine inches. Inhabits South 

 America Shaw, xii. pi. 1. 

 The other described species of this genus are T. kucocephalus and ibis, Lath. 



Gen. 20. IBIS, Lacep. Tantalus, Lin. 



Bill long, slender, arched, broad at the base, tip depressed, ob- 

 tuse, and rounded ; upper mandible deeply furrowed in its 

 whole length ; nostrils near the base, at the upper part of 

 the bill, oblong, straight, and perforated in the membrane 

 which covers the furrow ; the face, and frequently a part of 

 the head and neck, naked ; legs naked above the knee ; the 

 fore-toes united as far as the first joint, the hind toe long, 

 and reaching the ground. 



