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Show 382 AVES. parallel to its edges. The nostrils are oval, a~d situated at a s,ho~t d1. stance f ro m the origin of each groove. The1r s.m all tongue., rett· cu 1a te d I egs, the extent of the membranes of. the1r feet, the. tr two very sma1 1 c~~c a , their but slightly muscular g1zzard, an. d thetr lower I arynx destitute of peculiar m. uscles, .a re t.h e fs ame as m the Storks, 1 . but the expansion of their b1ll depnves 1t o al 1ts ~trength, and renders it fit for nothing but turning up mud, or capturmg small fish or aquatic insects. P. Zeucorodia, Gm.; Enl. 405; Naum. Supp. 44, f. 87. (The White Spoonbill.) All white, and a crest on the occiput; it is ~a' oun d throughout the eastern continent, where it bui.l ds on hoig· h trees. The '' Spatule blanche sans huppe," Buff. Htst. des 1~. tom. VII, pl. 24, according to Bail, is but the young of this species. Besides the absence of the crest, it is distinguished by the quills of the wings having a black edge. P. aiaia; La Spatule rose; Enl. 165; Vieill. Gal. 248 .. (The Roseate Spoonbill.) The face is naked, and the plumage tmged with various shades of a bright rose-colour which becomes more intense with age. It is peculiar to South America. FAMILY IV. LONGIROSTRES. This family is composed of a multitude of Waders, most of which were included in the genus Scolopax of Linnreus, and the remainder confounded in that of Tringa, L., though ~art~y in opposition to the character of this genus, which consists 10 a thumb too short to reach the ground. A small number were placed among the Plovers on account of the total absenc.e ~fa thumb. All these birds have nearly the same form, Sl~IIar habits and very frequently even a similarity in the distnb.u· tion of their colours, which renders it a difficult matter to dis· tinguish one from another. Their general character is a long, slender, and feeble bill, the use of which is restricted to sea~ch· ing in the mud for worms and insects; the different gradauons in the form of this bill serve to divide them into genera and subgenera. According to his own principles, Linnams should have united most of these birds in the great genus GRALLA TORI.IE, 383 ScoLoP Ax, Lin. Which we divide as follows, according to the variation in the form of the bill. ( 1) The Inxs, Cuv. Separated by us _from the Tantalus of Gmelin, because the bill, though arcuated hke that of Tantalus, is much more feeble, and has no emargination near its point; the nostrils also, perforated near the back of its base, are severally prolonged in a groove which extends to the end. Besides, this bill is tolerably thick and almost square at base, and some part of the head or even of the neck is always destitute of feathers. The external toes are considerably palmated at base, and the thumb is sufficiently large to bear upon the ground. Some of them have short and reticulated legs; they are usually the stoutest, and have the largest beak. Ibis religiosa, Cuv.; .!lbou-Hannes, Bruce, It., pl. 35; Tantalus rethiopicus, Lath.; the adult, Cuv., Oss. Foss. tom. I, and the young, Savign. Descript. de l'Egypte, Hist. Nat. des Ois., pl. 7 (The Sacred Ibis), is the most celebrated species. It was reared in the temples of ancient Egypt, with a degree of respect bordering on adoration; and, when dead, it was embalmed. This, according to some, arose from its devouring serpents, which otherwise might have infested the country; others again a1·e of opinion that it took its origin from some relation between its plumage and one of the phases of the moon; while a third class of authors attribute it to the fact that its appearance announced ed the overflow of the Nile.(2) The Tantalus of Africa was for a long time considered as the Ibis of the Egyptians; it is now known to be a bird of the present genus, as large as a Hen, with white plumage, the tips of the wing-quills excepted, which are black; the barbs of the last coverts are slender, and of a black colour, with violet reflections, and cover the tips of the wings and the tail. The bill and feet, as well as the naked part of the head and neck, are black: this part, at an early age, is covered With small blackish feathers, or, at all events, its upper surface is thus furnished. Found throughout Africa.(3) (I) This is another of these distinctions and names borrowed by Vieill. (Gal. 246l ~ithout any acknowledgement, although my memoir upon the Ibis, in which I establish it, is dated fifteen years prior to any of his writings upon birds. (2) Savigny, Mem. sur l'Ibis. ( 3 ) There is a neighbouring species in the Moluccas which bas a longer beak, |
