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DIVISION SECOND. 



WATER BIRDS. 



ORDER VI. GRALL^E. 



Beak various ; feet four toed, moderate or long, 

 strong or slender ; the thighs more or less naked above 

 the knee ; tarsi rounded, naked and reticulated ; toes 

 cleft, or connected at the base by a membrane ; the 

 hinder one either elevated from the ground ; the tip 

 alone, or the whole resting thereon. (Shaw.) 



Stomach intermediate, the secretion of the crop 

 digesting, in part, the food contained therein. 



GENUS XXXVI. 

 PLATALEA. 



Bill long, broad, flat and thin ; the end widening 

 into a roundish form, not unlike a spoon ; nostrils 

 small, placed near the base ; tongue small and pointed ; 

 feet semipalmated. 



