631 



ANASTOMUS. ANASTOMUS. 



Generic Character. 



Rostrum utrinque compres- 

 sum, versus medium hians, 

 acutum ; mandibula supe- 

 riore marginibus aut den- 

 ticulatis aut versus apicem 

 emarginatis; inferiore In- 

 tegra. 



Nares lineares. 



Pedes tetradactyli, fissi, dlgiti 

 exteriores basi membrana 

 connexa; unguis medius 

 dilatatus, integerrimus. 



Anastomus. Illig,, Vieil. 

 Hians. Lacepede^ Cm. 

 Ardea. Gmel., Lath. 



Beak compressed on both 

 sides, gaping towards the 

 middle, acute; the upper 

 mandible with its margins 

 denticulated, oremarginate 

 towards the tip ; the under 

 entire. 



Nostrils linear. 



Legs four-toed, cleft; the 

 outer toes connected by a 

 membrane at the base ; the 

 middle claw dilated, and 

 entire. 



Like the rest of the Grallje, the birds of this 

 genus reside in marshy places, feeding upon small 

 fishes, snails, worms, insects, and such like: they 

 are both natives of India, but of their method of 

 incubation nothing is known. 



