276 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



Argala is nearly of a pure white, that of the Marabou 

 of a dull brown. In the plumage too of the adult birds 

 there is a striking difference, that of the back and 

 wings in the Argala being of a uniform dull black, 

 while in the Marabou the black has a greenish tinge, 

 except on the larger coverts and secondary quill-feathers 

 of the wings, which are of a deeper black, and edged 

 more or less broadly and distinctly, according to the age 

 of the bird, with bands of pure white. These latter dif- 

 ferences, however, are not to be observed in the young 

 birds, which can only be distinguished by their forms, 

 the plumage of both species in the immature state being 

 generally of a dull brown with a mixture of ash-colour 

 and dusky black above, and dirty white beneath. 



The bill in both species is of a livid yellow, and, in 

 common with the dusky head, is more or less spotted 

 with black towards the base. The neck and pouch are 

 pale flesh-coloured when the bird is at rest, but as it 

 becomes excited, they gradually assume a deeper tinge 

 of red. These parts are furnished with a few scattered 

 brownish hairs, which are more numerous on the young, 

 and in the earlier stages of its growth resemble down. 

 The tail is black, and the under parts, including the 

 under tail-coverts, which furnish the celebrated plumes, 

 pure white. In the Argala these plumes are frequently 

 of a grayish slate-colour, but a similar variation has 

 not yet been observed in the African species. On the 

 other hand, the white of the latter is by no means so 

 beautifully clear and brilliant as that which has obtained 

 for the finest Indian plumes the first place in the esti- 

 mation of connoisseurs. The legs when clean are of a 

 dull black, but in the living bird they are generally 

 stained of a grayish white by the mixture of the white 

 dust that is shaken off from the plumage with other 

 excrementitious matter. 



