631 
ANASTOMUS. ANASTOMUS. 
Generic Character. 
Rostrum utiinque compres- 
sum, versus medium hians, 
acutum ; mandibula supe- 
riore marginibus aut den- 
ticulatis aut versus apicem 
emarginatis; inferiore In- 
tegra. 
Nares lineares. 
Pedes tetradactyli, fissi, digiti 
exteriores basi membrana 
connexa; unguis medius 
dilatatus, integerrimus. 
Axastomus. Illig; Vieil. 
Hians. Lacepede, Cuv. 
Ardea. Gmel., Lath. 
Beak compressed on both 
sides, gaping towards the 
middle, acute; the upper 
mandible with its margins 
denticulated, oremarginate 
towards the tip ; the under 
entire. 
Nostrils linear. 
Legs four-toed, cleft ; the 
outer toes connected by a 
membrane at the base ; the 
middle claw dilated, and 
entire. 
the rest of the Grallai, the birds of this 
genus reside in marshy places, feeding upon small 
fishes, snails, worms, insects, and such like: they 
are both natives of India, but of their method of 
incubation nothing is known. 
