188 
IBIMNJE. 
by Dr Moore, in Devonshire ; the third near Ipswich, and the 
fourth near Poole, in Dorsetshire. 
Ardea nigra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 235.— Ardea nigra, Lath. 
Ind. Ornith. ii. 677.—Cieonia nigra, Temm. Man. d’Ornith. 
ii. 561. — Ciconia nigra, Black Stork, Mac Gillivray, Brit. 
Birds, iv. 
The transition from the Storks to the Tantali is but slight, 
and were there not other birds intimately connected with 
the latter, they might even be referred to the same group, i 
But as the Tantali pass into the Ibises, and the latter into ; 
the Curlews, it is necessary to separate them from the Storks 
and Herons, from which they differ not only in the form of 
the bill, but in having two coecal appendages to the intestine, 
and in the form of the tongue, which is extremely short. 
FAMILY XL. IBIDIKE. IBIDINE BIRDS, 
OR IBISES. 
Birds of large or moderate size, resembling Herons in 
their general appearance, but with the bill more elon- 
gated, and more or less arched. The body ovate ; the 
neck long, and rather slender ; the head of moderate 
size, ovate or oblong, flattened above, little compressed, 
bare in front. Bill very long, arcuate, stout at the base, 
gradually attenuated, with the tip obtuse. Mouth rather 
narrow ; tongue extremely small, triangular, flat, and 
thin ; oesophagus wide ; stomach large, broadly elliptical, 
muscular, with the epithelium dense, and longitudinally 
rugous ; intestine of moderate length and width ; coeca 
very small ; cloaca globular. Trachea destitute of infe- 
rior laryngeal muscles. Nostrils linear, subbasal, near 
the ridge. Eyes small, in a bare space, which extends 
to the bill. Aperture of ear rather small, and roundish. 
Legs long, rather slender ; tibia bare in its lower half, 
reticulated ; tarsus long, rather stout, reticulated, or scu- 
