GRALLATORIE. 339 
the naked skin of the head and neck, blackish. It inhabits both 
Americas, arriving in each country about the rainy season, and fre- 
quenting muddy waters, where it chiefly hunts for eels. It is a 
stupid bird, whose gait is very slow. 
T. ibis, L.; Enl. 339. (The Wood-Pelican of Africa). White, 
lightly shaded with purple on the wings; bill yellow; skin of the 
face red and naked. This is the bird which has long been consi- 
dered by naturalists as the /bis of the ancient Egyptians, but recent 
researches have proved that the Ibis is a much smaller bird, of which 
we shall speak hereafter. This Tantalus is not even usually found 
in Egypt; the specimens we possess are brought from Senegal. 
T’. leucocephalus; Tantale de Ceylan, Encyc. Method. Orn. pl. 
66, fig. 1; Vieill. Gal. 247, (The Wood-Pelican of Ceylon , is the 
largest of all, and has the stoutest bill. This bill, and the skin of 
the face are yellow; plumage white, with black quills; a black cinc- 
ture round the breast; long rose-coloured feathers on the rump, 
which are shed during the rainy season*. 
PuataLeat, Lin. 
The Spoonbills approximate to the Storks in the whole of their struc- 
ture; but their bill, whence they derive their name, is long, flat, broad 
throughout, becoming widened and flattened, particularly at the end, so as 
to form a spatula-like disk; two shallow grooves, originating at its base, 
extend almost to the end, but without being parallel to itsedges. The nos- 
trils are oval, and situated at a short distance from the origin of each groove. 
Their small tongue, reticulated legs, the extent of the membranes of their 
feet, their two very small ceca, their but slightly muscular gizzard, and 
their lower larynx destitute of peculiar muscles, are the same as in the 
Storks, but the expansion of their bill deprives it of all its strength, and 
renders it fit for nothing but turning up mud, or capturing small fish or 
aquatic insects. 
P. leucorodia, Gm.; Enl. 405; Naum. Supp. 44, f. 87. (The 
White Spoonbill). All white, and a crest on the occiput; it is found 
throughout the eastern continent, where it builds on high ttees. 
The “ Spatule blanche sans huppe,” Buff. Hist. des Ois. tom. VII, 
pl. 24, according to Bail, is but the young of this species. Besides 
the absence of the crest, it is distinguished by the quills of the wings 
having a black edge. 
P. aiaia; La Spatule rose, Enl. 165; Vieill. Gal. 248. (The 
Roseate Spoonbill). The face is naked, and the plumage tinged 
with various shades of a bright rose-colour, which becomes more in- 
tense with age. It is peculiar to South America. 
* Add the T. lacfeus, T. Col. 352. 
+ Platalea, or Platea, Latin names, sometimes used as synonymous with Pe/icanus. 
EE 2 
