582 CICONIAPLATALEA 



the eye and legs orange red ; iris reddish brown. Culmen 7'4, wing 21*1, 

 tail 9*5, tarsus 7*5 inch. Female similar. The young have the upper 

 parts browner and duller, most of the feathers tipped with dull white. 



Hob. Temperate and southern Europe, becoming rare in 

 the north up to southern Sweden ; of rare occurrence in Great 

 Britain; Africa, in winter as far south as the Cape Colony; 

 Asia north to the Lena, east to Mongolia and China. 



In habits it is less sociable than C. alba and does not affect 

 the neighbourhood of man, but frequents marshes in or near 

 forests, generally far from human habitations. It is also far more 

 shy and is not seen in flocks, even during passage, but singly 

 or in pairs. It feeds on frogs, amphibians, reptiles, small 

 mammals, and to some extent on insects. It breeds in forests, 

 making a smaller nest than that of C. alba, of sticks lined with 

 grass and moss, or it occasionally utilizes the deserted nest of 

 some other large bird, and it sometimes nests in a cave or on 

 a cliff. The eggs, 3 to 5 in number, are usually deposited late 

 in May or early in June, and are white, resembling those of 

 C. alba except that when held up to the light the inside of the 

 blown egg is yellowish green ; in size they measure about 2*54 

 by 1-90. 



PLATALEA, Linn., 1766. 



812. SPOONBILL. 

 PLATALEA LEUCORODIA, 



Platalea leucorodia, Linn/Syst. Nat. i. p. 231 (1766) ; Naum. ix. p. 312 ; 

 Taf. 230 ; Hewitson,ii. p. 320, pi. Ixxxv. ; Gould, B. of E. iv. pi. 286 ; 

 id. B. of Gt. Brit. iv. pi. 32 ; (Dresser), vi. p. 319, pi. 407 ; Sharpe, 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxvi. p. 44 ; Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 366 ; 

 Saunders, p. 393 ; Lilford, vii. p. 51, pi. 18 ; P. major, Temm. and 

 Schlegel, Faun. Jap. Aves, p. 119, pi. Ixxv. (1850) ; David and Oust. 

 Ois. Chine, p. 451 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 970. 



Spatule blanche, French ; Colhereira, Portug. ; Espatula, 

 Cuchareta, Span. ; Palettuni, Ital. ; Loffler, German ; Lepelaar, 

 Dutch ; Skeeheira, Dan. ; Skegaas, Norweg. ; Skedstork, Swed. ; 

 Kolpitza, Russ. : Abu-Malaqah, Lands, Arab. ; Eou-kar-kaba, 

 Moor. ; Chamach-buza, Hindu. ; Hiro-sagi, Jap. 



$ ad. (Holland). Entire plumage pure white, except that the lower 

 neck is buffy yellow nuchal feathers much elongated, forming a crest ; 



