Genus— M ALACORHYNCHUS. 
Malacobhynchus Swainson, Journ. Roy. Inst. 
Great Brit., Vol. II., pt. iv., p. 18, 1831 . . T3rpe M. mtmhranacms. 
Also spelt — 
Malacorynchus Swainson, Classif. Birds, Vol. II., p. 366, 1837. 
Malacorhynchos Bonaparte, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, Ser. IV., Vol. I., p. 151, 1854. 
Small Anatine birds with very long spatulate bills, with lateral leathery 
appendages. 
The bill is very long, much longer than the head, and more than one- 
third the length of the wing, rather shallow at the base, not expanding much 
anteriorly but developing laterally long wing-lil^e leathery appendages ; its 
depth is little more than one- quarter of its length and is equal to its 
breadth. Long finely-toothed combs are strongly developed along the 
inner edges of the upper mandible right up to the nail, which is well 
defined as a small overhanging triangular tip. The combs are externally 
observable, save where obscured by the lateral wings. The nostrils 
are small ovals placed high up near the base and approximate very 
closely ; the culmen ridge is scarcely marked except between nostrils, 
anteriorly merging into lateral edges ; the lateral edges are straight, and 
do not show a bag as in the previous genus. 
The under mandible is very narrow : the rami are well marked enclosing 
an unfeathered tract, and extending almost the whole length of the mandible, 
only a very small nail, agreeing with that of the upper, occurring. 
On each side of the rami a soft leathery expansion can be observed, 
and strong combs similar to those of the upper mandible are present. 
The wings are long, the first primary being longest. The tad is short, 
less than one- third the length of the wing. The metatarsus i^ little 
more than half the length of the culmen, and is exceeded slightly by the 
middle toe. The toes are fully webbed, the hind-toe narrowly lobed. 
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