72 
The Scarlet Ibis (/. rubra), South America. 
The Common Bittern (. Botaurus minor), North America. 
The Tiger Bittern ( Tigrosoma brasiliense), Brazil. 
The Boat-Billed Heron ( Cancroma cochlearia ), South 
America. 
The Night Heron ( Nycticorax griseus ncevius), United 
States. 
The Great White Egret (. Ardea egretta), southern 
United States. 
The Great Blue Heron (. A . herodias), North America. 
The Little Blue Heron (. A . ccerulea), southern United 
States. 
The Least Bittern (A. exilis), United States. 
The Australian Sacred Ibis (Ibis strictipennis), which is 
closely similar to the African bird formerly venerated by the 
Egyptians. 
These all belong to two somewhat closely related orders, 
Alectorides and Herodiones. In them the legs are usually of 
great length, and are commonly bare of feathers for some 
distance above the tarsal joint; the neck is, in most species, 
of length proportioned to the legs. There are numerous 
forms distributed all over the world. 
The Adjutant (. Leptoptilus argala) of India is one of the 
extensive family of storks, which are found throughout the 
world, with the exception of North America ; it will be easily 
recognized by its long, thick bill. In its native country it 
wages successful war upon the many venomous reptiles which 
there find a home, and also performs a part similar to that 
which is effectively taken in our Southern States by the black 
vulture. This is well stated in Jerdon’s “ Birds of India ” :— 
“ In Calcutta and some other large towns, the Adjutant is a familiar 
bird, unscared by the near approach of man or dog, and protected, in some 
cases, by law. It is an efficient scavenger, attending the neighborhood 
of slaughter-houses, and especially the burning-grounds of the Hindoos, 
when the often half-burnt carcasses are thrown into the river. It also dili¬ 
gently looks over the heaps of refuse and offal thrown out into the streets 
to await the arrival of the scavenger’s cart, where it may be seen in com¬ 
pany with dogs, kites, and crows. It likes to vary its food, however, and 
may often be seen searching ditches, pools of water, and tanks for frogs 
and fish. In the Deccan it soars to an immense height in the air along 
with vultures, ready to descend on any carcass that may be discovered.” 
