SPOONBILLS. 



345 



The Herons (Arded) are more carnivorous in their habits, and are pro- 

 vided with a long, sharp beak, cloven to beneath the eyes. They are likewise 

 remarkable for having the inner edge of the middle claw of each foot horny 

 and toothed like a comb. The herons are solitary birds : they roost or perch 

 themselves by the side of streams, where they destroy much fish. 



The Storks (Ciconid) are furnished with a beak of still more formidable 

 proportions, and their feet are slightly webbed at the base. They have the 



habit of striking their broad mandibles 

 sharply together, thus producing a clap- 

 ping sound, the only noise that they 

 make. The White Stork (Ciconia alba) 

 very common on the continent, builds 

 its nest upon steeples, towers, and other 

 lofty objects: frequently upon a cart- 

 wheel purposely placed as a scaffold 



for its accommodation. These birds are not only tolerated, but they are held 

 in special regard, on account of the services that they render in destroying 

 reptiles and all sorts of vermin, as well as offal, which they greedily devour. 



The Spoonbills (Plataled) resemble the storks in everything but the struc- 

 ture of their beak, which is very peculiar : it is long, broad, and flattened out 

 near its extremity into a spatula-like plate, so feeble as no longer to be fit for 

 anything but dabbling in the mud in search of little fishes or aquatic worms 

 and insects. ^ 



TRIBE III. LONGIROSTRES. 



The third tribe, Longi- 

 rostres,* composed of 

 Wading Birds, compre- 

 hends numerous genera that 

 habitually frequent the 

 banks of rivers. All the 

 genera resemble each other 

 very much in their form and 

 general habits, and fre- 

 quently even in their co- 

 lours, so that it is difficult 

 to draw any well-marked 

 distinctions between them. 

 They are, however, empha- 

 tically characterized by 

 their beak, which is long, 

 slender, and feeble, so that 

 it is principally used for 

 probing the soft earth in 

 search of the grubs and 

 worms upon which they feed. 



FIG. 381. IBIS. 



To this tribe belongs 



* Longiis, long ; rostrum, a beak. 



