142 IBIDIN^E. PLATALEA. 



the second and third longest ; tail short, even, of twelve 

 "broad feathers. 



In structure these birds are intermediate between the 

 Herons and Curlews, and intimately allied to the Ibises. 

 They belong to the warm climates of both continents, some 

 migrating northward. 



230. PLATALEA LEUCORODIA. WHITE SPOONBILL. 



Adult with a large occipital crest of linear feathers, the 

 loral spaces and throat bare, the bill black, variegated with 

 grey or dull yellow, a large portion of the expanded part of 

 the upper mandible yellow, the plumage w^hite, the crest ting- 

 ed with yellow, the lower part of the neck and a portion of 

 the breast buff-coloured. Young crestless, with the bill darker, 

 the plumage white, without yellow on the neck, and with the 

 shafts of the quills and the tips of the primaries and their 

 coverts black. 



Male, 32, . ., 15, 8, 5 T * T , 3, T V 



Extensively distributed over the temperate and warmer 

 parts of Europe, and said to be especially abundant in Hol- 

 land, where it is migratory. It nestles on trees or bushes, or 

 among the reeds near the edges of small lakes. The eggs 

 are two or three, white, with faint red spots. Of rare and 

 irregular occurrence in the south of England. 



Platalea Leucorodia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 231. Platalea Leu- 

 corodia, Lath. Ind. Omith. ii. 667. Platalea Leucorodia, 

 Temm. Man. d'Ornith. ii. 595. Platalea Leucorodia, "White 

 Spoonbill, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iv. 



The series of Waders here ends, and that of Swimmers 

 commences. Among the former we have seen some birds 

 that never or seldom wade, and others that swim with ease ; 

 but among the latter we find none that are not addicted to 

 swimming. Some reside almost constantly in the water, 

 others seldom alight upon it ; some dive, others plunge from 

 on wing, and many swim but never dive. The series is 

 extremely interesting, and as the species are comparatively 

 few, and yet their forms and habits very diversified, their 

 study is more calculated to lead to clear views of classifica- 

 tion than that of the much more numerous land birds. Yet, 



