CICONIID^E. 



1549. Xenorhynchus asiaticus. The Black-necked Stork. 



Mycteria asiatica, Lath. 2nd. Orn. ii, p. 670 (1790). 



Ardea indica, Lath. t. c. p. 701 (1790). 



Mycteria australis, Shaw, Trans. Linn. Soc. v, p. 34 (1800) ; Blyth, 



Cat. p. 276; Irby, Ibis, 1861, p. 244; Jerdon, B. 1. iii, p. 734; 



Gurney, Ibis, 1865, p. 276; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 172; Godw.- 



Aust. J.A.S. B. xliii, pt. 2, p. 175. 

 Mycteria indica, Hume, S. F. i, p. 252 ; id. N. $ E. p. 607 ; Adam. 



S. F. i, p. 398 ; Hume $ Oates, 8. F. iii, p. 189. 

 Xenorhynchus asiaticus, Walden in Blyth' s Birds Burm. p. 158; 



Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 469 ; Gates, S. F. vii, p. 51 ; Ball, ibid. 



p. 230; Hume, Cat. no. 917; Doig, S. F. viii, p. 371; Legge, 



Birds Ccyl. p. 1116 ; Butler, S. F. ix, p. 432 ; Parker, ibid. p. 484 ; 



Reid, S. F. x, p. 74 ; Oates, B. B. ii, p. 264 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. 



p. 375 ; id. Jour. Bom. N. H. Soc. vi, p. 141 ; Hume fy Cripps, 



S. F. xi, p. 330; Oates in Hume's N. $ E. 2nd ed. iii, p. 265 ; 



Sha?-pe, Cat. B. M. xxvi, p. 310. 

 Mycteria asiatica, Godiv.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xlv, pt. 2, p. 84; Hume 



8? Butler, S. F. iv, p. 22. 



Banaras, Loharjung, Loha sarang, H. ; JRam salik, Beng. ; Peria Uoku, 

 Tarn. (Ceylon) ; Al-koka, Cing. ; Telia-herenga, Assam ; Hnet-kalah, 

 Burm. 



Fig. 88. Head of X. asiaticus. 



Coloration. Head and neck black, richly glossed with bluish 

 green, except the occiput which is coppery brown, passing into 1 

 purple on the edges ; scapulars, tertiaries, greater secondary- 

 coverts, greater under wing-coverts, and tail black, richly glossed 

 with metallic green ; rest of plumage white. 



In young birds the head, neck, back, and wings are brown, 

 many of the feathers with pale edges ; the scapulars and wing- 

 feathers darker and glossed with green ; the quills whitish towards 

 the base ; lower back and rump whitish, middle upper tail-coverts 

 brown; tail-feathers brown, whitish for some distance at the base and 

 white-tipped ; sides of breast brown ; lower parts from neck white. 



Bill black ; gular skin and eyelids dusky purple ; irides bluish 

 brown ; legs and toes coral-red {Oates) ; irides dark brown in the 

 male, bright yellow in the female (Gurney}. 



Length 52; tail 9; wing 24: tarsus 12 to 13-5; bill from 

 gape 12. 



Distribution. The Black-necked Stork is resident in suitable 

 localities throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, and through the 

 Malay countries and archipelago to Australia. It is in India far 

 from generally distributed, not being found in dry sandy tracts, 

 nor as a rule in forests, but keeping chiefly to the plains of the 

 great rivers. 



