Order 5. 



GRALL.E. 



227 



grounds. The ancreiits frequently speak of it, because the principal course of its migrations appears to be 

 through Greece and Asia Minor. 



Between the Cranes and Herons may be placed 



The CouRLAN [{Aramus, Vieillot),] 

 The beak of which, more slender and rather more deeply cleft than that of the Cranes, is swoln near 

 the terminal third of its length ; and the toes are comparatively long, without any basal membrane. 

 [Its anatomy approaches that of the Rails], 



The species (Ard. scolopacea, Gm.), resembles the Herons in size as well as manners, and has brown plumage, 

 with some white pencils on the neck. 



Also 



The Carle {Europyga, Illig.), — 

 With a beak more slender than that of the Cranes, but marked with a similar nasal groove, and split 

 nearly to the eyes, as in the Herons, but having no naked skin at its base. 



It IS a bird the size of a Partridge, with a long and slender neck, broad open tail, and rather short legs, which 

 altogether impart a very different aspect from that of the wading birds in general. Its plumage, shaded with 

 bands and lines of brown, fulvous, russet, grey and black, recalls to mind the colouring of some of the most beau- 

 tiful Moths. It is found along the rivers of Guiana, [and we suspect is closely allied to the African genus 

 Rhynchiea]. 



The second tribe is more carnivorous, and is characterized by its stronger beak, and longer 

 toes : [they mostly nestle upon trees in large societies, and the young are at first helpless and 

 naked]. At its head may be placed 



The BoATBiLLS (Cancroma, Lin), — 

 '\^Tiich would completely resemble the Herons in the strength of their bill, and the kind of nourish- 

 ment resulting therefrom, were it not for the extraordinary form of that organ ; as, upon close exami- 

 nation, we find that it is merely the beak of a Heron or Bittern, very much inflated : in point of fact, the 

 mandibles are singularly wide from right to left, and formed like the bowls of two spoons, the concave sides 

 of which are placed in contact. These mandibles are very stout and sharp-edged, and the upper one has 

 a pointed tooth on each side of its tip ; the nostrils, pierced towards the base, are prolonged into two 

 parallel grooves to uear the end. The feet have four toes, all of them long, and nearly without con- 

 necting membrane ; for which reason these birds perch on the branches of trees by the sides of rivers, 

 from which they precipitate themselves on the fish, which constitute their ordinary food. Their gait is 

 slow, and their attitudes constrained like those of the Herons. [The Boatbills are, in brief, simply 

 modified Herons, from which they diflfer only in their inflated beak, conforming in their whole 

 anatomy.] 



The known species (C cochlearea, Lin.), is the size of a common Fowl, and 

 whitish, with a grey or brown back, the belly rufous, and forehead white ; 

 head adorned with a black calotte, which, in the adult male, becomes a 

 lengthened crest : it inhabits the hot and humid regions of South America. 



The Herons (Ardea, Lin.), — 

 Have the beak cleft as far as the eyes, with a small nasal fossa pro- 

 longed into a groove nearly to the point : they are also distinguished 

 by the pectinated inner edge of the claw of their middle toe. Their 

 legs are scutellated, with the toes (including the hind one) rather 

 long [and articulated on the same plane] : the palmature of the outer 

 ones is considerable, and their eyes are placed in a naked skin, which 

 extends to the beak. Their stomach is a very large sac, but slightly 

 muscular, [the intestines extremely long and slender,] and they have 

 only one minute ccecura. They are unlively birds, which nestle and 

 perch by the sides of rivers, and consume a vast quantity of fish. The 

 species are very numerous in both continents, and can scarcely be dis- 

 tinguished except by differences of plumage. 



The True Herons have a very slender neck, with long and pendent feathe. s 

 towards its base. As 

 The Ck>mmon Heron (A. major & A. cinerea, Lin.).— Bluish ash-coloured, with a black occipital crest ; the neck 



flg.ns. — Sternum of Purple Heron. 



