FAMILY C ULTIROSTRATA. KNIFE-BEAKED. 



85 



Family KNIFE-BEAKED ; Cultirostrata. 



The beaks of this family are long, stout, and thick, and most generally 

 pointed and trenchant. The family is composed of the Cranes, Herons, 

 and Storks. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 



PLATE 13. 



Genera. Species. Common Name. 



Cancroma - - - - Cochlearia - - Boat-bill. 



(Major ----- Common Heron. 



Ardea ----- j Egretta - - - - Great Egret. 



(stellaris - - - - Bittern. 



PLATE 14. 



Alba 

 - Senegalensis - - 



Ciconia 



Mycteria 



Scopus ----- Umbretta - - - 



Anastomus - - - - Lamelligerus - - - 



Tantalus - - - - Lacteus - - - - 



Platalea - - - - Aiaia ----- 



White Stork. 

 Senegal Jabiru. 

 Tufted Timbre. 

 Coromandel Erody. 

 Milky Tantalus. 

 Roseate Spoonbill. 



Other Genera of this Family : Grus, Psophia. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. CANCROMA (Lat. Cancer, a Crab). Beak long, broad, and ovate; the 

 upper mandible resembling in shape two spoons joined by then- edges, and 

 having a pointed tooth on each side of its tip ; the under mandible straight, 

 smooth, its tip abruptly acute. 



2. ARDEA. Beak longer than the head, strong, and with its base broader 

 than high ; the upper mandible nearly straight, and having a little nasal pit 

 continued into a groove extending almost to its tip ; eyes placed in naked 

 skin reaching to the beak ; neck, slender, long, and furnished at the base 

 with elongated feathers ; legs slender, having four long toes connected as 

 far as the first joint by membrane ; the claw of the middle one remarkable 

 for having its inner edges serrated. 



3. CICONIA. Said to be so called from the Cicones, a people of Thrace, in 

 which country the bird was abundant. Beak large, strong, straight, long, 

 conical, sharp-pointed, and not grooved ; nostrils close to its base ; tongue 

 very short ; mandibles thin and broad ; legs reticulated ; feet tetradactyle, 

 the three front toes connected to each other by membranes at their base, 

 especially the external toes ; the hind toe rests on the ground. 



4. MYCTERIA (Gr. pvicrfip, a nose). Beak long, conical, compressed, 

 slightly curved upwards, smooth, strong, and pointed ; mandibles straight, 

 the upper trigonal, the lower much thicker and inclined upwards ; gape of 

 moderate size ; nostrils longitudinal and narrow ; head and neck more or 

 less bare ; tarsi reticulate ; front toes connected by membrane. 



5. SCOPUS (Gr. o-Kta, a shadow). Beak compressed, blunt ; upper man- 

 dible surmounted with a distinct ridge ; nostrils in a groove, linear, long, 

 and partially closed with membrane ; legs of moderate length, four-toed, the 

 middle one shorter than the tarsus, the hind toe reaching the ground, the 

 toes webbed to the first joint. 



6. ANASTOMUS (Gr. di/aoro^ow, I open the mouth). Beak longer than 

 the head, thick, compressed ; mandibles only touching at the base and tip ; 

 upper mandible nearly straight ; lower mandible convex downwards in the 

 middle ; nostrils near the base, lineal, lateral ; legs long and slender, in part 

 naked ; the three front toes united by a short membrane, the hind toe half 

 the length of the others, articulated on the inside and above them. 



7. TANTALUS. Beak very long, straight to within three inches of its 

 tip, whence it gradually bends downwards ; tip compressed, cylindrical, and 

 notched or toothed ; edges of both mandibles sharp ; nostrils high on the 

 forehead, covered by an extension of the horny bill, but not opening into 

 any pit ; top of the head covered from the root of the beak with a hard, 

 horny, smooth hood, which is truncated opposite the ridge of the beak and 

 above the eyes ; from the comers of the mouth there is a naked, smooth, 

 broad band of skin ; chin, throat, and upper half of the neck devoid of 

 feathers, but covered with scales of cuticle ; wings rather long ; caudal 

 quills short, and concealed by the long coverts; legs very long; tarsus 



twice the length of the middle toe ; the lateral toes connected by broad 

 truncated membranes. 



8. PLATALEA (Gr. TrXarvg, broad). Beak very long, much flattened, 

 and expanded towards the tip in form of a spoon ; upper mandible fluted, 

 and transversely grooved at its base ; nostrils approximate, oblong, oval, 

 edged with membrane ; head and face partially or entirely bare ; wings of 

 moderate length, but wide ; legs strong and powerful ; three toes in front, 

 connected as far as the second joint by membrane ; hind toe long, and 

 resting on the ground. 



9. GRUS (Gr. ye'pavoc, o. Crane). Beak compressed, thickish, straight, 

 as long or longer than the head, elongated at the point into a cone flattened 

 at the extremity; lateral edges of the upper mandible deeply grooved, 

 ridge sharp ; nostrils in the middle of the bill pierced from side to side 

 through the grooves, concave, elliptical, closed posteriorly by membrane ; 

 ophthalmic region and lore feathered ; legs long and strong, unfeathered to 

 some distance above the knees, and scutellated; hind toe short, hardly 

 reaching the ground ; of the front toes, the middle and outer connected by 

 a short membrane, the inner free ; nails short and flattish ; caecum single. 



10. PSOPHIA (Gr. \l/o<f>iw, / make a hollow noise). Beak short, vaulted, 

 conical, curved, very much hooked at the point, longer than the lower man- 

 dible, compressed, and the ridge distinct at the base ; nasal pits wide and 

 expanded, the nostrils near the middle of the beak, open in front, and closed 

 behind by a naked membrane ; wings short and concave ; legs long and 

 slender ; middle and outer toe connected, inner toe distinct ; hind toe arti- 

 culated internally on a level with the other toes. 



CULTIROSTRATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



CANCROMA The Boat-bill (C. Cochlearia) very much resembles the 

 Herons in its general structure and habits, but it is very remarkable for 

 the formation of its bill (Plate 13). Brisson considered it to resemble 

 two spoons joined at their edges, and he therefore called the genus 

 Cochlearius. Brown and others, however, thought that it had more the 

 appearance of a boat with the keel turned upwards, and therefore named 

 it Boat-bin. Linnasus gave it the name Cancroma, from the bird living on 

 Crabs. On either side of the ridge which runs along the top of the upper 

 mandible, is a long groove, at the root of which are placed the nostrils. 

 The bird is about the size of a fowl ; the beak is of a dusky colour, the 

 forehead whitish, and from the upper and back part of the head extends a 

 long black crest, which becomes narrow at the point, the longest feathers 

 being six inches in length ; the upper part of the neck bluish-white, the 

 abdomen reddish, and the back brown or grey ; the legs and thighs together 

 are about seven inches in length, and the bare part on the front of the 

 thighs and the legs are yellow ; the toes are four to each foot, long, and 

 slightly webbed. This genus inhabits the hot and marshy parts of South 

 America, living on the banks of rivers, where it sits upon the trees and 

 pounces down upon the fish, which form its principal support. 



ARDEA Heron. This genus frequents the banks of lakes and rivers, 

 living principally on fish, of which they destroy great numbers ; they build 

 in the same places in large societies, and migrate in flocks periodically ; 

 when flying the neck is folded on the back, and the legs extended ; the 

 sexes do not differ, but the young are very various, so as to render it difficult 

 to class them. 



The species are so numerous that they have been arranged into four sub- 

 genera; but the distinctive features are so ill defined, and the points of 

 difference so unimportant, as not to deserve particular attention. The 

 species illustrated are three (Plate 13). 



The Common Heron (A. Major). More than three feet high ; the fore- 

 head, neck, middle of the belly, edge of the wings and thighs white ; the 

 fore part of the neck studded with black and grey spots ; a deep black tuft 

 on the occiput ; the beak and insides of a deep yellow ; the legs brown, 

 and the naked space above the knee red. Their appetite is enormous, and 

 Willughby states that they will eat fifty small roach and dace in a day. 

 They usually obtain their prey by wading into the water, but oftentimes 

 dash at it whilst on the wing. Common in this country. 



