212 



AYES. 



Tliat of Ci'i'nn (T. h-Hro^-rplnlu,:) is tile lars'est of all, and lias also (lie thickest bill. Its beak, and the naked 

 ■skin of the face, are yellow, the pluinajje white, with black quills and cincture round the breast, and Ion"; roseate 

 plumes on the croup, -which are shed during the rainy beason. A fourth may be added, the T. lacteus Qi 

 Teniminck. 



The Si'oONiiiLLS {Pkddea, Lin.) — 



Approximate tlie Storks in their whole structure, but tlieir beak, from which their name is derived, is long, 

 flat, and broad tliroughout its length, widening and flattening move particularly at the end, so as to form 

 a rouird spatula-like disk; wilh two shallow grooves extending its entire length, without being exactly 

 parallel to its edges. Tlie nostrils are oval, and pierced at a small distance fi'ora tlie origin of each 

 croove. Their miinite tongue, reticulated tarsi, the somewhat cousidei-able [)almaturc of tlieir toes, 

 their two vri'y small ax^x-Ti, luit slightly muscular gizzaril, and inferior larynx without any iicculiar 

 muscles, arc Ihe same as in the Sluii^s ; liut the expansion of their bill deprives it of all its strength, 

 and unfits it for any thing but turruug up sand, or picking up small lish and aquatic insects. 



The White Spoonbill {PL lencoi-odia, Gni.). — Entirely white, \vith an occi[>ital crest. It is common throughout 

 the ancient continent, and nestles in hii,^h trees. [Tlie trachea normally undergoes in both sexes a small convolu- 

 tion resembling the fi;;ure 8, but we have dissected one female wherein it proceeded straight to the divarication 

 of the bronchi, and was furuislied with a small pair of muscles]. 



The Roseate Spoonbill {PL ajaja). — A naked \usage, and vivid roseate tints of JilTerent shades upon the plumage, 

 which deepen with age. It is properly an inhabitant of South America. 



The family of 



LfjNGIUOSTRES 



Consists of a muliitudc of Shore-birds, the greater uunibei' of which were coniprcheiidcd by 

 LinncCiis in his genus Scolopox, and the rest confounded b^' him in tliat of Triiuja, though 

 partly in opposition to the character assigned to the latter, ol' having the l)ack-toe too short 

 to reach the ground. Lastly, it contains a few that have been placed with the Plovers, on 

 account of the total absence of tlie hind toe. The whole of these birds have nearly the same 

 eonfonnatioii, the same habits, and most frequently the same distribution of colours, which 

 render it dittieiilt to distinguish between them. They are generally characterized by a long, 

 slender, and i'eeblc bill, which only permits them to bore in the mtid in search of worms and 

 small insects ; and the various slight modilieations in the fnrm of this beak enable ns to 

 arrange them into genera and subgenera. 



[We should observe that the distinction between this group and the Pressirostres is extremely 

 vague, or rather, with certain reservations, that they compose but one series, plainly charac- 

 terized by their anatomy. The sternal apparatus of the Knot Sandpiper (fig. 119.) may serve 



as a specimen of this portion of the skeleton throughout 

 the \\liole, the few modifications which occur of it being 

 incousiderablc. The stomach (save m the Bustards and 

 Coursers, which in other respects arc tlie least conform- 

 able among them), is always a muscular gizzard, and the 

 intestines long, with small or moderate coeca, and luvaria- 

 IjIv a distinct cceeal remnant of the umbilical vessel. The 

 females (exce}it m the very few species of polygamous 

 habit), are larger than the males, and thcA' almost invariably 

 lay four eggs on the ground, upon little or no nest, and 

 disjiose them with the small ends inwards ; the young 

 following tlieir parents as soon as they burst the shell]. 



According to his own principles, Linnaius should have 

 classed most of these birds in his great genus rjf 



Fig. 119.— Sleruum of the Knot Satoli 



TtiF. Snipes {Scohpai'), — ■ 

 ^^dlicb we divide as follows, from trivial variations of the form 

 of the bill. 



The Ibises {I/jh, Cm.). 

 We separate these from the Tonlati of Citielin, on account of theii beak, which, though arcuated as in 



