PLATALEA LEUCORODIA. 1097 



Spatule, Buff. ; Wliite Spoonbill, Lath. ; Lepelaav, Dutch in Ceylon. Chamach-buza, lit. 

 " Spoon- Ibis," Hind. ; Chinta, Bengal. ; Genta-muku konga, Telugu ; Abu Mala qah, 

 Arabic ; Chapy-chunclan, Tamil (Layard). 



Male (Sindh). Length 33-25 inches ; wing 15-3, expanse 58-0 ; tail 5-0 ; tarsus 6'2 ; bill at front 8-4, varies in indi- 

 viduals from 8-2 to 9-7 {Hume).— Adults (England: Brit. Mus.). Wing 14-8 to 14-9 inches ; tail 4-5 to 4-8; 

 tarsus 4-8 to 5-2 ; middle toe and claw 3-2 ; bill at front 7-1 to 7-4.— Adult (Egypt). Length 29-0 to 31-0 inches ; 

 wing 12-0 to 13-5 ; tarsus 4-0 to 5-0 ; bill at front 6-65 to 7-0 {Heuglin). 



Iris red ; bill black, the plate or terminal portion yellow, with a black edge ; loral space yellow ; gular skin reddish 

 yellow ; legs and feet black. The gular skin extends down the throat in adults for a distance of 2-i to 3 inches 

 from the base of the lower mandible. 



Breeding-plumage (England : Brit. Mus.). Entirely white ; sides and lower part of the neck buff-yellow, and a tinge 

 of buff at the sides of the throat ; an ample crest of long, decomposed, occipital feathers 2J to 3i inches in length. 



Winter plumage. Similar to the summer dress, but without the crest, and more of the bill yellow. 



Young. Bill dark ashy (Jerdon). Covered with white down ; the bill with the plate from the time of birth — in fact 

 I have found it well developed in the embryo before birth. 



Immature (Holland). Wing 10-6 inches; tail 3 - 75 ; tarsus 4 8; bare tibia 3-8 ; bill at front 3-6. Bill yellow; iris 

 brown ; bare portion of skin at the base of the under mandible not developed. Plumage white, with the exception 

 of the terminal portion of the first four primaries, which is blackish slate-colour ; the shafts of the primaries, secon- 

 daries, and primary-coverts are black. 



Ohs. Indian specimens, judging by published data, are as large if not larger than European : an example in the British 

 Museum has the bare gular skin reaching 2| inches down the throat. I have not had an opportunity of comparing 

 Ceylonese skins with those from other parts, as I was unable to procure a specimen while in the island, and have 

 never met with this species in the collections of others. Von Heuglin looks upon the resident birds in Egypt as 

 smaller than European, although there is but little difference in the eggs. 



The Spoonbill of China and Japan has been separated by Temminck as P. major ; but specimens which I have examined, 

 collected by Mr. Swinhoe, are no larger than Indian birds, nor have they longer legs. It differs, however, in 

 having scarcely any naked skin at the base of the bill. Males from China, before me, in Mr. Seebohm's possession, 

 measure — wing 14-75 to 15-0 inches, tarsus 4-75 to 5-0, bill at front 7'6 to 7-9 ; the bill is black, with the tip 

 yellow. A March specimen has the bill yellow ; and an immature bird has the tips of the quills blackish. 



There are two species in Australia (P. melanorhynclms, Reich., and P. flavipes, Grould). The former has the facial skin 

 and all the bill black, and the latter has the bill and legs yellow. P. tenuirostris, Temm., found in Africa, has the 

 legs and feet rosy red and the bill bluish green. All these species have the plumage white. 



Distribution. — The Spoonbill is not an uncommon bird in the south-east of Ceylon and in the tank- 

 districts of the northern half of the island. I have never seen it in large flocks, and I do not think it is an 

 abundant species anywhere, though it is widely distributed in the regions in question. I found it breeding at 

 Uduwila, near Tissa Maha Rama ; but it was so wary, in spite of its eggs being endangered, that I could not 

 succeed in getting any specimens. It is to be met with further north about Yala, and thence towards Batti- 

 caloa. It is often seen about Kanthelai tank and in the Mullaittivu district. Mr. Parker informs me that 

 it is tolerably common in the North-Central Province, and here and there found in the North-western 

 Province about Puttalam and Kurunegala. Further south it is found at Chilaw, but not lower down the coast ; 

 and I have not heard of its occurrence anywhere in the south-west of the island, though Layard says it 

 extends westward of Hambantota to Tangalla, which is about the limit of all such large dry-climate species. 



This bird is generally distributed throughout India, but is nowhere very abundant. It is common in 

 parts of the Deccan, breeding there in April and May [Davidson). Further north, in the direction of Chota 

 Nagpur, Mr. Ball records it only from Orissa, north and south of the Mahanadi river, and from Raipur. It 

 is not common about Calcutta, and is omitted entirely from Mr. Cripps's Furreedpore list. I find no mention 

 of it to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal ; and beyond the Burmese countries, in China, it is replaced by 



