Descriptive List of the Common Birds 
221. Anastomus oscitans: The Open-Bill. 
The Shell Ibis of the older writers. (F. 1553), 
(J. 940), (+V3 nearly 3 feet long.) 
This bird is distingushed from all others by 
the fact that the mandibles do not meet in the 
middle ; indeed the beak looks as though it had 
become distorted owing to the attempts of 
the bird to crack a very hard nut! (The head 
is figured on p. 378, F. IV.) It is a greyish- 
white bird with black shoulders, wings, and 
tail. The bill is light horn colour, and the 
legs dirty pink. 
To my mind this bird looks like a white 
stork that sadly needs a wash and brush up 
and its beak put straight! 
Found only in N. India. Abundant in 
Oudh and Bengal. 
The Herons, 222-225 
Herons are wading birds with long, sharp, 
stiletto-like bills and telescopic necks. It is 
their habit to stand motionless in shallow 
water with the head almost buried on the 
shoulders. When a victim shows itself, out 
shoots the neck of the fisher, and woe betide 
his victim! On the wing herons are easily 
221 
