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Show 1873.] WHITE STORK OF JAPAN. 513 second parent, and the young bird remained alone and solitary. Mr. R. H . Boyce, chief of H . M . Office of Works here, being on a visit to Japan, brought from Yokohama a pair of large birds, which he thought would be fitting companions to the last of the Cranes. It was soon found that the new birds were of much coarser habits, required a daily supply of fish, and took no friendly notice of the more graceful Crane, from whom they kept aloof. The birds were not considered ornamental, and the Consul desired that they should be removed. Mr. Boyce wrote to m e at Ningpo, and offered them to me. I was too glad to accept what I supposed from the description were Cranes of some species or other, and intended them at once for the Society's Gardens. Imagine m y delight on arriving here to find that instead of Cranes we had a form of White Stork quite distinct from any thing yet known. It has characters in common with Ciconia alba of Europe, but seems to lean more towards C. maguari, Temm., of America. I will do m y best to paint this novelty as it stands before m e ; but without being able to handle it it is impossible to give correct details as to either measurements or markings. In the first place I think no objection can be made to calling the species by the name of the gentleman who has brought the bird to notice. I will therefore head m y description with the title :- CICONIA BOYCIANA, sp. nov. (Boyce's Stork.) The male stands about 3 feet 10 inches in height, and about 4 inches higher than the female-which resembles him in colour, but is in every way smaller, has a shorter bill, and shorter and thinner legs. It is not unusual for them in reposing attitude, with crouched head and neck, and bill buried in the long neck-feathers, to stand each on one leg close together, the female a little turned towards the male, so that her head comes under the chin of the male without touching it. Bill horn-black, paler at tip, between 10 and 11 inches long, and nearly 2 inches deep at base, culmen straight, gonys ascending, mandibles slightly gaping (especially in the male) ; rictus, under edge of crura, and intercrural skin lake red, throat-feathers advancing to an acute angle between. Iris cream-white, with black exterior circle ; a nictitating membrane from fore edge of the eye occasionally covers over the eye. Eyelids and bare skin round eye, bare space in front of eye about | inch long towards beak and about 2 inch deep, and angle behind eye vermilion-red. Legs and feet dull vermilion. Feathers of the front neck long, narrow, and loose, webbed at margins. Tail white. Primary quills brownish black, dingy white on their outer webs, bordered with black ; secondaries and tertiaries black, the latter broad and long, extending 3 inches beyond the tail, iridescent with purple. The rest of the bird pure white. From the above description it will be seen that this Stork is quite distinct from the two known White Storks. Our birds were not heard to utter any cry, but often chattered their bills together as Storks usually do. They were very tame and are now on their way to London in the steamer ' Priam.' They have thriven long in PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1873, No. XXXIII. 33 |