278 



A VES— ORDER ARDEIFORMES. 



The Eztlnct Birds 

 of Patagonia 



(^StereornUlies). 



Tlie HeTon. — 

 Order 



Ardetformes. 



and reptiles. They nest in low bushes, the egga being two In number, 

 rounded and spotted, resembling those of Cranes and Rails. 



Somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Seriamas and the Cranes and 

 Rails must apparently be placed some extraordinary forms of bird-life which 

 have been discovered in the Miocene deposits of Patagonia, 

 and described by Dr. Ameghino under the order 

 Stereornithes. These peculiar creatures are only known 

 from their fossil remains, and they were at first supposed 

 to be Struthious Birds, and akin to the Rheas. Further 

 information is required concerning them, but at the present time, my 

 colleague, Mr. Andrews, considers that they are totally different from any 

 ostrich-like birds, and were probably gigantic fore-runners of the Seriama 

 and the Crane-like birds of modern times. 



All the members of this order have a bridged or desmognathous palate, and 

 the nestlings are hatched helpless, and are fed in the 

 nest by the parent birds for a considerable period. Thua 

 they differ from the Cranes, with which they were 

 associated in the older classifications. The Heron-like 

 birds may be divided into three great groups, viz., the 

 Storks (Ciconiida), the Spoonbills and Ibises, and the Herons. 



Although in outward appearance Storks and Herons look very much alike, 



there are several characters which rehider them easily separable. For 



instance, no Stork has the claw of the third or middle 



The Storks.^ toe pectinated ; that is, furnished with a comb-like 



Family Cioonudce. process, as is the case with all Herons. Again, the hind 



toe is not on a level with the other toes, but is elevated 



above it; and the fcurcula, or "merry-thought," bone shows no median 



projection in the angle, as is seen in the true Herons. There are other 



anatomical and osteological characters which 



can be adduced for the separation of the 



Storks from the Herons which it is not 



necessary to enumerate in detail. 



In this Order are included the true Storks 

 (Ciconiidie), the Marabous, or Adjutants 

 (Leptoptilus), the Open-bills (Anastomiii:), 

 and the Wood- Storks or Wood-Ibises (Tan- 

 talus), the latter being 

 generally admitted as a 

 distinct sub- family, Tan- 

 talince. All these birds 

 have no "powder-down" 

 patches on the sides of the rump, thus differ- 

 ing from the true Herons and the Hammer- 

 heads {Scopi) and the Shoe-billed Storks 

 {Bala:nicipitida:). 



The best-known representative of the 

 Ciconii is the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) 

 of Europe, a bird which occasionally visits 

 England, but is to be more easily studied on 

 the opposite shores of the Continent. It is always interesting to take a 

 country walk in Holland in the spring and see the Storks' nests, which are 

 plentifully distributed in the Dutch gardens, where the birds are encouraged 



The Storks.— 

 Sub-order 



Otconii. 



Fig. 40.— The WniTB Stoek 

 (Ciconia ciconia). 



