44 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



own in the struggle for existence, notwithstanding its 

 showy plumage. These birds are the spoonbill, the 

 egrets, the black-winged stilt, the avocet, the white 

 ibis, the flamingo, adult cock paradise flycatcher, 

 and certain of the gulls, terns, pelicans and storks, 

 including the open-bill. With many of these every one 

 is familiar. Accordingly, it will not be necessary to 

 describe the sea gulls, the pelicans or the flamingo. 



The spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a bird larger 

 than a kite with very long black legs and a bill of the 

 same hue which is flat and expanded at the end like a 

 spoon, hence the popular name of the bird. Perhaps 

 another name for the bird Banjo-bill still better 

 describes its beak. Spoonbills dwell on the fringe of 

 water and feed much as ducks do. 



The white ibis (Ibis melanocephala) is another 

 wading bird, rather smaller than the spoonbill and 

 with considerably shorter legs. All its plumage is 

 white, but the legs, bill, and featherless head and 

 upper neck are black. The bill is long and curved like 

 that of the curlew. The stilt (Himantopus candidus) 

 may be described as a sandpiper on red stilts. It is 

 a white bird with dark wings and back which spends 

 its days wading in shallow water. The avocet (Re- 

 curvirostra avocetta) is perhaps the most elegant of 

 all wading birds. It is slightly bigger than the stilt 

 but with shorter legs. Its body is white picked out 

 with black. Its most characteristic feature is a long, 

 slender bill which curves upwards. Like the species 

 already mentioned, it feeds in shallow water, and I 

 have seen it on the Cooum. 



