68 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OP AUSTRALIA. 



green coloration ; P. c. sinensis Shaw and Nodder, from China and Japan, in its 

 small size and generally oily -green coloration ; P. c. novcehollandice Stephens from 

 Australia in its deep oily-green coloration and sparse nuptial ornaments, rarely 

 observed due to their evanescent nature ; and P. c. steadi Mathews and Iredale, from 

 New Zealand, like the preceding generally, but of smaller size. 



FAMILY ANHINGID^. 



Only one genus was admitted in this family, but it is possible that the four 

 species may prove to represent different genera as the internal characters differ 

 somewhat appreciably according to good workers. The peculiar mechanism of the 

 neck is common to all, but " Donitz's bridge," as it is called, is fibrous in the type, 

 ossified in the others. There is said to be no expansor secundariorum in the wing, 

 while rudiments exist in the members of the preceding family. Again, only one, 

 the left, carotid is recorded in this group, while both are always found in the 

 Phalacrocoracidae. Here it may be noted that some of these records refer to only 

 one species, while the absence of an independent tongue must be noted, and also 

 the peculiarities of the syrinx. 



Genus ANHINGA. 



Anhinga Brisson, Ornith., Vol. I., p. 60, Vol. VI., p. 476, 1760. Type (by tautonymy) : 



Anhinga = Plotus anhinga Linne. 



Plotus Linn6, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., p. 218, (pref. May 24th) 1766. Type (by monotypy): 



P. anhinga Linne. 



Plottus Scopoli, Introd. Hist. Nat., p. 474, 1777. Type (by monotypy): A. anhinga. 



Notoplotus, Mathews, Birds Austr., Suppl. No. 1, Check Lost, p. 62, Feb. 16th, 1920. Type 



(by original designation) : Plotus novcehollandice Gould. 



Large slender birds with very small heads and very long necks, long thin pointed 

 bills, long wings, long stiff tail, short legs and long toes, totipalmate. 



The bill is very long and thin, straight and pointed, longer than the head and 

 more [than one and a half times the length of the metatarsus, compressed laterally 

 and the edges of both mandibles are finely serrated. The loral space is naked 

 and there is a small gular pouch ; the nostrils obsolete in an ill-defined groove. The 

 neck is very long and the body slender. The wings are long, the second and third 

 primaries subequal and longest, the first shorter than the fourth. The tail is very 

 long, composed of twelve broad stiff feathers, fairly evenly rounded, the outside 

 feather rather short. The legs are very stout and short ; the metatarsus is less 

 than one-fourth the length of the tail, coarsely reticulate on the front and sides but 

 minutely reticulate on the back. The toes are long, the middle almost as long as 

 the outer one, hind-toe connected with others by a web ; all the toes therefore are 

 fully webbed. The outer toe is little longer than the middle one, and is about one 

 and a half times the length of the metatarsus ; the middle claw is finely pectinate. 



An extraordinary feature is the wrinkling of the two centre tail-feathers and 

 the longest secondaries. 



The Darters, though superficially unlike, have been shown to be specialised 

 Cormorants, and show the closest relationship of any of the totipalmate group. 



51. Anhinga novsehollandiae. DARTER. 



Gould, Vol. VII., pi. 75 (pt. xxvm.), Sept. 1st, 1847. Mathews, Vol. IV., pt. 3, pi. 224. 



June 23rd, 1915. 



Plotus novcehollandice Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1847, p. 34, April 27th : New South 



Wales. 



Plotus novcehollandice derbyi Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 3, p. 74, June 28th, 



1912 : Derby, North-west Australia. 



DISTRIBUTION. Australia generally. Not Tasmania. 



