160 



Lath., Ind. Orn. 2. 699. 7S. Le Heroti Violet, Buff., Ois. 7. 

 i^70. Heron de la cote de Coromandcl, Buff., PI. Enl. 906. 

 Violet Heron. Kandehsvr or Kotvruw of the Mahrattas. 

 It is singular that this well-marked bird should have been classed 

 as a Heron for a long period, and remain as such at the pre- 

 sent moment in Shaw. Length, inclusive of tail, 33 to 34-^ 

 inches : tail 8 inches. 

 Mostly seen on open stony plains or in ploughed jfields. Food 

 chiefly grasshoppers. Monogamous. Irides scarlet, margined 

 with a narrow circle of black and an exterior circle of yel- 

 lowish. 

 155. Ciconia Argala, Steph., vol. II. p. 622. Ardea dubia, Gmel., 

 1. 624-. Ardea Arg(da, Lath. 

 Is met with in Dukhun ; but Col. Sykes has not a specimen. Called 

 the Adjutant by Europeans, from its stiff' soldier-like strut. 



Genus Anastomus, 111. Courly. 



186. Anastomus Tt/ptis, Temm. An. Coromandelianus, Steph., II. 



632. Ardea Coromandelica (I'adulte) et Ponticeriana (lo 

 jeune), Temm. Le bee ouvert des hides, Sonn , Voy. 2. pi. 

 in p. 219. Buff" , Ois. 7. 409. PI. Enl. 932. Cinereous Muscle- 

 catcher. 

 />7i/f6 bright yellow. Length, inclusiveof tail, 32 to S3 inches : 



tail 6^ to.GI^ inches. 

 Bufton's figure is excellent. Lives on the animals of a new and 

 large species of Unio. The stomach of this bird is not less re- 

 markable than its bill : the last exhibiting a beautiful adapta- 

 tion of means to their end ; the form of the mandibles enabling 

 the bird to hold and open the bivalve shell of the Unio. So- 

 litary. 

 The proportional length of the intestinal canal exceeds that of 

 any other bird in the order Grallalores, in one specimen being 

 five times the length of the body, neck and bill inclusive. 



Genus Tajitalus, Linn. 



187. Tantalus leucocephalus, Lath., Ind. Orn. 2. 706. Le Tantalc 



de Ceylon, Cuv., Regne Anim. 1.481. JVltite-headed Ibis. 

 Lilies yellow. Length, inclusive of tail, 40-i- to 43 inches: tail 



64r inches. 

 A large diaphanous spot on each side of the base of the upper 



mandible before the eyes does not appear to have been noticed 



in the description of the bird. 

 The generic characters, if this bird he made the type, require 



modification. The stomachs of three birds were distended with 



fibrous vegetable matters in a comminuted state. A fourth 



had the same vegetable matters and the half of a carp 9 inches 



long. 



Genus Ibi'i, La Cep. Ibis. 



188. Ibis rcligiosa, Cuv., Kegne Anim. 1.483. Sacred Ibis. L' Ibis 



sacrc, Cuv. J Ucchcrches sur les Osscmens Fossilcs, 1. 161. 



