218 LAN 
Lanius> Tt lias the fame kind of beak with the excubitor>, 
but the feet are longer;, and the body is Ihorterand thicker 
than the fhrikes in general. It would indeed be a pretty 
little magpie, but for the bill, which is longer, narrower, 
and very evidently hooked on each fide, a mark belong¬ 
ing to many birds, hut particularly to the fhrikes. This 
fpecies, which Vaillant calls pie-griecl/e rouJJs a plajlron blanc, 
the red fhrike with a white pad, is about the fize of a 
blackbird. The head, hind part of the neck, mantle, fca- 
pulars, back, and wings, are of a dull black without any 
glol's; the throat, front of the neck, and flernum, are co¬ 
vered with feathers of the brighteft red, relieved by a 
femi-annular broad ftripe of white which covers the breaft 
from wing to vying; this is what Vaillant calls plajlron, as 
it is placed in the fituation of that fluffed plaftron or pad 
which fencers ufe in pradifing to receive the tlirufts.; a 
red ftroke, which is continued along the two middle quills 
of each wing, runs lengthwife upon this white fpot. How¬ 
ever, this ltroke itfelf was white in two out of four which 
Vaillant examined, and he fuppofes they might have been 
the females. The lower belly, and under wing-eoverts, 
are of a light fawn-colour. A white ftripe borders the 
check and lower mandible on each fide. The tail is very 
much tapered, (etagee;) it con lifts of ten feathers, of a 
bright red on the furface, and fainter underneath ; but 
the quills or ftems are white through the whole of their 
length. The bill, feet, and nails, are black. This beau¬ 
tiful fpecies is faid to come from the South-Sea iflands; 
and is correctly fhown on Plate IV. fig. 5. 
68. Lanius durus, the iron-bill: the beak of this bird 
is extremely large and thick ; hence the name of bee de fer 
given it by Vaillant; the upper mandible is convex; 
broad at its origin, and ending in a blunt point; the lower 
mandible is even. The head is round, of a fize propor¬ 
tioned to the bill ; it has a curious long tuft of irregular 
feathers almoft upright, but rather bending forward. The 
neck is thick, the body flout and bulky. The feet are 
ftrong, armed with crooked claws ; the wings, when fold¬ 
ed in, reach below the middle of the tail; the tail confifts 
of ten quills a little tapering, fo as to have fomewhat of a 
rounded form. The tongue is fmall, of a triangular fliape, 
and fattened to the bottom of the throat. 
This fpecies is about the fize of our blackbird; but 
ftouter. The greater part of the plumage is black. The 
throat is of a bright red, with Tome yellow ftreaks below ; 
thefe feathers are fliff and hard. The middle of the body 
is crofted by a broad band of yellow, ftreaked with red in 
the middle, and dotted with black on the fides. The 
rump and tail-coverts are of a greenilh-yellow. The mid- 
quills of the wings are partly white on their outer barbs ; 
fo that, when the wing is fpread, the white appears in re¬ 
gular lines. The reft of the plumage, including the tuft, 
is black. The longeft feathers of the tuft rife near four 
inches, and are excavated or grooved. The bill is ferru¬ 
ginous grey; the nails are black ; feet and legs bluilh. 
The habits of this bird are not known ; its fhort tongue 
would make us fuppofe it lives on infeds. It was brought 
from the South-Sea iflands. Vaillant is of opinion that it 
forms a diftind genus, of which this fpecies only is at pre- 
fent known, though probably there are many more in the 
lame country. If it ftiould hereafter be afiumed as a ge¬ 
nus, it would naturally be placed between the fhrikes and 
the barbets. 
69. Lanius Geoffroyi, the Geoffroy’s fhrike: this beau¬ 
tiful fpecies was brought by Geoffroy Villeneuve from Se¬ 
negal, among other curiofities which that ingenious young 
naturalift colleded in Africa. It is called “tufted Sene¬ 
gal fhrike” in the Mufeum of Natural Hiftory at Paris. 
Yet Vaillant afterts that it is not a fhrike, and that it dif¬ 
fers very much from that genus of birds in its modes of 
living. He doubts not but they are gregarious, (which 
the fhrikes never are;) and that they feek their food in 
rooift grounds, which they eafily penetrate with their bill; 
as in all thefe birds which he examined he found earth 
adhering to the bill; Till a new clafiification lhall be 
LAN 
made, we have thought it beft to place it here. The notch 
at the end of the upper mandible might occafion it to be 
placed among the fhrikes; but the general fhape of. the- 
bill will not juftify this, nor will the following deferip- 
tion. A broad flafhed eyelid runs all round the eye. Part 
of the feathers between the eye and the bill brittle up, 
while others, ftretch forward, covering the noftrils entirely, 
and great part of the bill. The head is ornamented with 
a foft tuft falling down behind, which no doubt the bird 
can ered at pleafure. The tail is fquare ; the wings about 
half its length. The tuft, bill-feathers, and cheeks, are 
pure white. The head, and feathers about the ears, are 
ferruginous grey inclining to black. Below this, the hind 
and fore part of the neck, the throat, breaft, fides, belly, 
the inner wing-coverts, and the under tail-coverts, are as 
white as fnow. The mantle, fcapulars, and wings, are 
black, and in certain poiitions appear of a bluifli glofs. 
The two outer quills of the tail on each fide are entirely 
white ; the third is black at its origin ; and the reft have 
fucceftively more black and lefs white as they approach- 
the middle. The bill is black; eyelids, legs, feet, and 
nails, yellow. This bird is the fize-of our tlirufh. The 
female is about a fixth part finaller, and the tuft is lefs j 
the white rather inclining to afh-colour, and the eyelids 
not fo broad. Vaillant has alfo deferibed and figured the 
young bird ; the tuft is very fmall”; the mantle and fca- 
pulary feathers are tipped with brown ; the white parts 
were moftly cinereous ; and the eyelids do not appear. 
LANK, adj. [lancke , Dut.] Loofe; not filled up; not 
ftiffened out; not fat; not plump; flender.—We let down 
into the receiver a great bladder well tied at the neck, 
but very lank , as not containing above a pint of air, but 
capable of containing ten times as much. Boyle. 
Moift earth produces corn and grafs, but both 
Too rank and too luxuriant in their growth. 
Let not my land fo large a promife boaft, 
Left the lank ears in length of Item be loft. Dryden , 
Milton feems to ufe this word for faint, languid: 
Pie, piteous of her woes, rear’d her lank head. 
And gave her to his daughters to imbathe 
In nedar’d lavers ftrew’d with afphodil. Milton. 
LANKA'YT, a fmall ifland near the weft coaft of Ce¬ 
lebes. Lat. 4. 57. S. Ion. 119. 12. E. 
LANKE, a lake of Thibet, about forty-five miles in 
circumference : forty miles north of Darmadijira. 
LANK'HEIM, a town of Germany, in the principality 
of Anfpach : five miles north-north-eaft of Maynbern- 
heim. 
LANK'NESS, f. Want of plumpnefs. 
LAN'KU-TOU 7 , a city of China, of the fecond rank, 
in Yun-nan : 1102 miles fouth-weft of Peking. Lat. 27. 
25. N. Ion. 100. 45. E. 
LANK'WATT, a town of Bavaria, on the Grofs La- 
ber: eight miles fouth-eaft of Kelheim, and twenty-fix 
eaft of Ingolftadt. 
LANMEU'R, a town of France, in the department of 
the Finifterre: fix miles north-eaft of Morlaix, and eleven 
eaft-fouth-eaft of St. Pol-de-Leon. 
LAN'NAS, a town of Sweden, in the province of An- 
gsrmannland : thirty-five miles north-welt of Hernofand. 
LAN'NER, f. [lanier , Fr. lannarius, Lat.] A fpecies of 
hawk. See Falco, vol. vii. p. 190. 
LAN'NILlS, a town of France, in the department of 
the Finifterre: ten miles north of Brelt, and eight weft of 
Lefneven. 
LAN'NION, a town of France, and principal place of 
a diftrid, in the department of the North C’oalt: 3^ polls 
nprth-weft of Guingamp, and 64^ weft of Paris. Lat. 48. 
44. N. Ion. 3. 22. W. 
LANNOY 7 , a town of France, in the department of the 
North. A party of the French were defeated at this place 
by the duke of York in the year 1794: fix miies eaft- 
north-ealt of Lille, and eight north-welt of Tournay. 
LANN'STROFF, 
