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Genus PLEGADIS. 



Numenius apud Brisson, Orn. v. p. 326 (1760). 

 Tantalus'apud Linnseus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 241 (1766). 

 Ardea apud Scopoli, Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 87 (1769). 

 Ibis apud Temminck, Man. d'Orn. p. 385 (1815). 

 Plegadis, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 82 (1829). 

 Tantalides apud Wagler, Isis, 1832, p. 1231. 

 Falcinellus apud Gray, List of Gen. of B. p. 87 (1841). 

 Plegadornis apud L. Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 290. 

 Eudocimus apud Bocage, J. f. Orn. 1876, p. 300. 



Although in outward form the birds belonging to the present genus resemble the Curlews not a 

 little, they are generically widely separated from them, and belong to a distinct division, being 

 nearly allied to the Storks and Herons. This genus is represented in the Palaearctic, Ethiopian, 

 Oriental, Australian, Nearctic, and Neotropical Regions, only one species, the type of the genus, 

 being found in the Western Palsearctic Region. 



These birds frequent marshy places, lagoons, the shores of lakes, and the sea-shore where it is 

 flat and suitable to their habits. They are shy and wary, difficult of approach, especially as they 

 usually prefer open places. They feed on aquatic insects, Crustacea, reptiles, &c, and frequently 

 wade in search of food. Their flight is tolerably swift and strong, resembling that of the Curlew ; 

 but they are, as a rule, silent birds, seldom uttering their note. They breed in large morasses, 

 usually in almost inaccessible places, and construct a loose nest of flags and aquatic plants, in 

 which they deposit three dark greenish-blue eggs. 



Plegadis falcinellus, the type of the genus, has the bill elongated, curved, tapering towards 

 the point, the culmen grooved on each side ; nostrils basal, elongated ; space in front of the eye 

 bare ; head without crest ; wings rather long and full, the first quill rather shorter than the 

 third, the second and third longest ; tail moderate, even ; legs long, tibia bare on the lower half ; 

 tarsus scutellate ; toes long, rather slender ; claws moderate, slightly curved. 



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