414 



Gkai.l-e.- 



-BIEDS.- 



-Abueid.e. 



mandibles take part in this curious formation. Tlie 

 WLite Spooubill is a native of Asia, Africa, and Europe, 

 in many places being tolerably abundant ; in northern 

 countries, and even in England, it is only an occa- 

 sional visitor. Its plumage is entirely white, with the 

 exception of a band across the breast which is of a 

 buff colour ; the naked skin of the throat is yellow ; 

 the back of the head bears a crest of elongated slender 

 feathers ; the bill is black, with the extremity yellow ; 

 and the legs are black. The length of the full-grown 

 male is about thirty-two inches ; the female is rather 

 less, and has a smaller crest. The trachea of the 

 Spoonbill is very curiously convoluted in the form of 

 the figure 8. 



The Spoonbill resembles the preceding species in 

 its general habits, frequenting the margins of rivers 

 and lakes, in which it procures the fishes, frogs, aquatic 

 insects, and other animals, which constitute its food. 

 In capturing minute animals at the water's edge or in 

 the mud, it makes use of its wide spooulike bill much 

 in the same way as a duck. It is an abundant bird in 

 Holland during the summer, but migrates southward 

 at the approach of winter, during which season it 

 haunts the coasts of the Mediterranean in flocks. The 

 nest is generally made amongst the reeds and herbage 

 of the marshes, but in some places the Spoonbill is 

 said to build, like the heron, in trees. 



THE ROSEATE SPOONBILL {Platalea Ajaja) — Plate 

 25, fig. 9G— a beautiful species of a rose colour with 

 the wmgs rich carmine, enjoys a wide distribution in 

 South America. lu its habits it resembles the Euro- 

 pean species. 



THE YTHITE STORK {Ciconia alba) — Plate 25, fig. 

 97. In the Storks and their immediate allies the bill 

 is very strong, conical, and usually pointed ; the upper 

 mandible has no grooves, and the nostrils are pierced in 

 its sides near the base of the bill. The White Stork, 

 which is a well-known European bird and an occasional 

 visitor to Britain, is migratory in its habits, passing 

 the summer only in temperate and cold latitudes. It 

 is a large and handsome species, measm-ing about three 

 feet and a half in length, and is of a white colour, with 

 the extremities of the wings black. 



The Stork frequents marshes and the banks of rivers, 

 devouring indiscriminately any aquatic animals that 

 come in its way, and not even sparing the young 

 of water fowl. It also feeds freely upon any offal or 

 carrion ; and for this reason in many places its visits 

 are regarded with great favour ; and it may be seen 

 stalking about with perfect confidence even in the 

 crowded streets of towns. It often takes up its abode 

 upon the house-tops and there builds its nest, return- 

 ing every year to take possession of its old dwelling ; 

 and in Holland and Germany it is usual for the people 

 to place boxes upon the roofs for the accommodation 

 of the Storks. The nest consists of a mass of sticks 

 and similar rough materials, in the midst of which the 

 female lays three or four eggs; the young, when 

 hatched, are attended with great care by the parent 

 birds, which feed them by introducing their bills into 

 the gaping mouths of their offspring and then disgorg- 

 ing a portion of their last meal. The affection shown 

 by the Stork for its young has indeed become pro- 



verbial ; and the female has been known to prefer 

 perishing with her young ones in a conflagration to 

 making her escape without them. 



THE BLACK STORK {Ciconia nigra) is another 

 European species, of which a few specimens have been 

 taken in this country. It inhabits as wide a range of 

 country as the White Stork, and like it is a migratory 

 bird ; but instead of approaching the dwellings of man, 

 it takes up its abode in the most sequestered spot it 

 can find. This bird is nearly as large as the White 

 Stork, and is of a deep black colour, witli purple, 

 coppery, and green tints, except on the lower surface, 

 from the breast backwards, the plumage of which is 

 white. The bill and feet are orange red. 



THE ADJUTANT {Leptoplilus Argala), also caUed 

 the GiG.\NTic Ckane, is a large and curious bird, 

 inhabiting India and the Indian islands. It frequently 

 attains a height of five feet, and measures fully half as 

 much more from the tip of the bill to that of the enor- 

 mously elongated feet. This remarkable bird has a 

 long, powerful, conical bill with an acute tip, with the 

 nostrils in the form of longitudinal slits near the base 

 of the ridge of the upper mandible ; its head and neck 

 are nearly bare of feathers ; in front of the neck is a 

 large pouch, and the base of the neck is surrounded 

 by a sort of ruff of feathers. The wings are of enor- 

 mous size and the legs are very long and stilt-like, tlie 

 nuked reticulated skin extending far above the aiticu- 

 lation of the tarsus. The Adjutant is of an ashy-gray 

 colour above, with the borders of the elongated wing- 

 coverts white ; its lower surface is white. This bird 

 is exceedingly voracious, devourmg anything that comes 

 in his way ; with his enormous bill he is able to snap 

 up even such large articles of food as fowls, cats, and 

 rabbits, and the capacity of his throat is such that he 

 swallows these whole. A small leg of mutton will also 

 disappear in the same way, and where the Adjutant is 

 kept in a tame state, it requires no little care to protect 

 provisions of all kinds from his sudden attacks. He is 

 nevertheless regarded as a benefactor by the inhabitants 

 of the countries in which he occurs, on account of the 

 quantities of carrion which he devours, and for this 

 reason his presence in the towns is even encoiu'aged. 

 In a wild state this bird lives in flocks, generally fre- 

 quenting the flat shores of the mouths of rivers. 



THE MARABOU STORK {LejiloptUus Marabou) is 

 an African species, a little smaller than the preceding, 

 which it resembles in its form and general habits. 

 This bird is chiefly remarkable for the great delicacy 

 of the feathers growing from beneath the wings, which 

 are known as Marabout feathers, and form some of the 

 most admired ornaments of ladies' head dresses. 



THE SENEGAL JABIRU {Mycteria senegalensis) — 

 Plate 25, fig. 98 — is an inhabitant of the same region 

 as the last species, to which it is nearly equal in size. 

 It is at once distinguishable from all the preceding forms 

 of this group by the peculiar form of the bill, which is 

 curved ujiwards at the tip. lu its habits this bird 

 resembles the Storks. A nearly allied species, the M. 

 austndls — is an inhabitant of Australia ; and a third, 

 distinguished by having the bill black and the head 

 and neck nearly naked {M. americana), is met with 

 in the tropical regions of South America. 



