422 



ROSEATE SPOONBILL. 



The roseate spoonbill now before us measured two feet six 

 inches in length, and near four feet in extent ; the bill was 

 six inches and a half long from the corner of the mouth, seven 

 from its upper base, two inches over at its greatest width, and 

 three-quarters of an inch where narrowest ; of a black colour 

 for half its length, and covered with hard scaly protuberances, 

 like the edges of oyster-shells ; these are of a whitish tint, 

 stained with red ; the nostrils are oblong, and placed in the 

 centre of the upper mandible ; from the lower end of each there 

 runs a deep groove along each side of the mandible, and about 

 a quarter of an inch from its edge ; whole crown and chin, 

 bare of plumage, and covered with a greenish skin ; that below 

 the under mandible, dilatable like those of the genus Pelicanus ; 

 space round the eye, orange ; hides, blood red ; cheeks and 

 hind head, a bare black skin ; neck, long, covered with short 

 white feathers, some of which, on the upper part of the neck, 

 are tipt with crimson ; breast, white, the sides of which are 

 tinged with a brown burnt colour ; from the upper part of 

 the breast proceeds a long tuft of fine hairlike plumage, of a 

 pale rose colour ; back, white, slightly tinged with brownish ; 

 wings, a pale wild rose colour, the shafts lake ; the shoulders 

 of the wings are covered with long hairy plumage, of a deep 

 and splendid carmine ; upper and lower tail-coverts, the same 

 rich red ; belly, rosy ; rump, paler ; tail, equal at the end, con- 

 sisting of twelve feathers of a bright brownish orange, the 

 shafts reddish; legs and naked part of the thighs, dark dirty 

 red ; feet, half webbed ; toes, very long, particularly the hind 

 one. The upper part of the neck had the plumage partly worn 

 away, as if occasioned by resting it on the back in the manner 

 of the ibis. The skin on the crown is a little wrinkled ; the 

 inside of the wins; a much richer red than the outer. 



