GRUINiE. 
Scops  Moehring.* 
Bill  the  Length  of  the  head,  Btraight,  the  sides  compressed,  the  apical  part  of  the  culmen  slightly 
curved  to  the  tips,  which  arc  equal  in  length,  and  the  gonys  long  and  slightly  advancing  upwards;  the 
nostrils  placed  in  a  nasal  groove,  which  reaches  beyond  the  middle  of  the  bill,  with  the  opening  in  a 
Longitudinal  slit.  Wings  long,  w  ith  the  third  and  fourth  quills  the  longest,  and  the  tertials  lengthened 
and  pendent.  Tail  rather  short.  Tarsi  long  and  slender,  and  covered  with  transverse  scales.  Toes 
moderate,  Blender,  and  covered  above  with  transverse  scales,  the  lateral  toes  equal,  the  outer  united  at 
the  base  to  the  middle  toe,  and  the  hind  toe  very  short  and  elevated. 
Those  birds  migrate,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  from  the  eastern  parts  of  Europe  to  the  south  coast  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  Caspian.  They  are  most  commonly  found  in  various  parts  of  the  continent  of  Africa,  India,  and 
occasionally  on  the  islands  el'  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  where  they  are  usually  observed  in  flocks  on  the  plains,  but  they 
prefer  inundated  and  marshy  situations  after  heavy  rains.  Their  food  is  dependent  on  circumstances;  it  consists 
principally  of  vegetables,  but  occasionally  of  insects,  mollusca,  and  also  fish,  which  they  catch  with  great  dexterity. 
1.  S.  virgo  (Linn.)  PI.  cnl.  241.  —  Grus  numidica  Brian. 
Edwards's  Birds,  pi.  134. 
2.  S.  vipio  (Pall.)  Zoogr.  ii.  111. 
.1.  S.  paradisea  (Licht.)  Cat.  Dupl.  Berl.  Mus.  1793.  p.  28.  — 
Anthropoides  Stanleyanus  Vigors,  Zool.  Journ.  ii.  234.  pi.  8.  ;  Te- 
trapteryx  capensis  Thunb.  Stockh.  Vetensk.  Acad.  Hand.  1811. p.  242. 
t.  viii. ;  Grus  capensis  Lest. 
Balearica  Briss^ 
Bill  shorter  than  the  head,  strong,  thick,  the  basal  half  of  the  culmen  flattened,  and  the  apical  half 
slightly  arched  and  gibbose,  the  sides  compressed,  the  gonys  of  the  under  mandible  short,  and  advancing 
upwards ;  the  nostrils  placed  in  a  broad  nasal  groove  which  reaches  to  the  middle  of  the  bill,  with  the 
opening  anterior,  large,  and  oval.  Wings  lengthened,  with  the  third  quill  the  longest,  and  the  tertials 
broad  and  reaching  to  the  end  of  the  tail.  Tail  short  and  even.  Tam'lengthened,  slender,  and  covered 
in  front  with  transverse  scales,  and  posteriorly  with  small  subquadrate  scales.  Toes  moderate,  slender, 
and  covered  above  with  transverse  scales ;  the  lateral  toes  unequal,  and  the  hind  toe  very  short  and 
elevated.    The  cheeks  naked,  the  base  of  the  bill  and  the  throat  beneath  wattled. 
The  continent  of  Africa,  and  occasionally  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  arc  the  peculiar  countries  of  these 
birds,  where  they  are  supposed  to  migrate  from  place  to  place,  mostly  frequenting  swampy  situations  where  they  seem 
to  subsist  chiefly  on  fish,  worms,  and  insects.  At  other  times,  however,  they  seek  the  plains,  and  vegetable  substances 
form  their  principal  food.  Their  flight  is  elevated,  powerful,  and  capable  of  being  sustained  for  a  very  considerable 
time  ;  they  walk  with  a  slow  and  somewhat  stately  gait,  and  in  running  they  expand  their  wings,  and  are  assisted  by 
the  wind,  which  enables  them  to  fly  from  danger  with  great  speed. 
1.  B.  pavonina  (Linn.)  Edwards's  Birds,  pi.  192.,  Vieill.  Gal. 
des  Ois.  t.  257. 
2.  B.  regulorum  (Licht.)  Cat.  Dupl.  Berl.  Mus.  1793,  PI.  enl. 
2fi5. 
*  Established  by  Moehring  {Genera  Avium)  in  1752.  It  is  coequal  with  Vieillot's  Anthropoides  (18lfi)  and  Thunberg's  Tetrapteryx 
(1818). 
t  Established  by  Brisson  {Ornithologie)  in  \~C)0  ;  but,  in  1752,  Moehring  had  proposed  for  this  division  the  name  of"  Ciconia,  which 
Lintueus  had  previously  employed  for  another  genus. 
July,  1845. 
