1873.] WHITE STORK OF JAPAN. 513 



second parent, and the young bird remained alone and solitary. 

 Mr. R. H. Boyce, chief of H.M. Office of Works here, being on 

 a visit to Japan, brought from Yokohama a pair of large birds, 

 which he thought would be fitting companions to the last of the 

 Cranes. It was soon found that the new birds were of much coarser 

 habits, required a daily supply of fish, and took no friendly notice of 

 the more graceful Crane, from whom they kept aloof. The birds 

 were not considered ornamental, and the Consul desired that they 

 should be removed. Mr. Boyce wrote to me at Ningpo, and offered 

 them to me. I was too glad to accept what I supposed from the 

 description were Cranes of some species or other, and intended 

 them at once for the Society's Gardens. Imagine my delight on 

 arriving here to find that instead of Cranes we had a form of White 

 Stork quite distinct from any thing yet known. It has characters 

 in common with Ciconia alba of Europe, but seems to lean more 

 towards C. maguari, Temm., of America. I will do my best to 

 paint this novelty as it stands before me ; but without being able to 

 handle it it is impossible to give correct details as to either measure- 

 ments or markings. In the first place I think no objection can be 

 made to calling the species by the name of the gentleman who has 

 brought the bird to notice. I will therefore head my description 

 with the title : — 



Ciconia boyciana, sp. nov. (Boyce's Stork.) 



The male stands about 3 feet 10 inches in height, and about 4 

 inches higher than the female — which resembles him in colour, but 

 is in every way smaller, has a shorter bill, and shorter and thinner 

 legs. It is not unusual for them in reposing attitude, with crouched 

 head and neck, and bill buried in the long neck-feathers, to stand 

 each on one leg close together, the female a little turned towards the 

 male, so that her head comes under the chin of the male without 

 touching it. Bill horn-black, paler at tip, between 10 and 11 inches 

 long, and nearly 2 inches deep at base, culmen straight, gonys 

 ascending, mandibles slightly gaping (especially in the male) ; rictus, 

 under edge of crura, and intercrural skin lake red, throat-feathers 

 advancing to an acute angle between. Iris cream-white, %vith black 

 exterior circle ; a nictitating membrane from fore edge of the eye 

 occasionally covers over the eye. Eyelids and bare skin round eye, 

 bare space in front of eye about | inch long towards beak and about 

 k inch deep, and angle behind eye vermilion-red. Legs and feet 

 dull vermilion. Feathers of the front neck long, narrow, and loose, 

 webbed at margins. Tail white. Primary quills brownish black, 

 dingy white on their outer webs, bordered with black ; secondaries and 

 tertiaries black, the latter broad and long, extending 3 inches beyond 

 the tail, iridescent with purple. The rest of the bird pure white. 



From the above description it will be seen that this Stork is quite 

 distinct from the two known White Storks. Our birds were not 

 heard to utter any cry, but often chattered their bills together as 

 Storks usually do. They were very tame and are now on their way 

 to London in the steamer ' Priam.' They have thriven long in 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 18/3, No. XXXIII. 33 



