Chapter V: Introduction (4)

Darters cannot be classed as marine birds, though they frequent inlets of the sea as well as lakes and rivers, where they sun themselves with outspread wings on some stump, rock, tree, or even tuft of rushes, while seldom admitting of a near approach. When disturbed, they circle in the air with the neck drawn back upon the shoulders, as do the Pelicans; but the flight is laboured, and they are much more at their ease in water, where they swim very low, exposing only the head and neck, or even the bill, if danger threatens, and having a very snake-like appearance, as they {81}sway gracefully from side to side in their endeavours to keep the intruder in view. Hardly a ripple follows the prolonged dive, while below the surface the wings are but slightly used, the tail being often expanded, and the feet acting as powerful paddles. On reappearance a fish is generally to be seen grasped in the bill or transfixed by it, the peculiar mechanism of the vertebrae of the neck allowing the head to be darted forward at a moment's notice for the capture;[83] subsequently the prey is jerked up into the air, cleverly caught and swallowed. The food, which seldom varies, is sometimes obtained by the bird standing with the body immersed to waylay the passing shoals; but if Gould is correct in adding frogs, newts, and aquatic insects to the diet, these must be procured very differently. The nest, generally situated over water, is a flat or concave fabric of sticks, lined as a rule with leaves, moss, or roots, and often used for several years in succession. High trees or bushes are indifferently chosen, and colonies are usually, but not invariably, formed, several pairs being accustomed to breed in proximity on the branches. The two to five eggs are greenish-blue with chalky incrustation, like those of Cormorants, though smaller and more delicate. The note is short and hoarse. Both sexes are said to incubate, and to regurgitate food for the young.[84] Jerdon says that the scapulars of the Indian Darter were royal badges among the Khasias. It is tamed by boatmen in Bengal.

Fam. IV. FREGATIDAE.–_Fregata aquila_, the Frigate- or Man-of-War-Bird, the latter of which names is sometimes transferred to the Albatroses and smaller Skuas, is met with throughout the tropical regions, and has even strayed as far north as Nova Scotia. It is blackish-brown with green and purple reflexions; the bill is bluish, the feet are black, the orbits, lores, and pouch–inflated in flight–scarlet. The female is browner above and white below, with pinkish feet and no perceptible pouch; while the young resemble her, but shew some white on the head and neck. _F. minor_, found from Madagascar to Papuasia and North Australia, but seldom beyond these limits, is smaller, with less purple gloss and a white mark on each flank.

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These birds are usually seen singly or in pairs, and are pre-eminently oceanic, seldom coming to land except near the breeding quarters, where they roost on the trees; the normal flight is extremely rapid, graceful, and long-sustained, with sudden deviations from the course, but they often soar until they appear mere specks in the sky, descending thence with great abruptness. At times they float aloft with little apparent movement of the wide-spread wings, alternately opening and shutting the forked tail and inclining the head from side to side, while in hurricanes they fly low before the gale. At rare intervals they are found sitting asleep upon the shore. Flocks frequently pursue the surface-swimming fish, constituting their main aliment, which are seized almost without ruffling the water; squids, small crabs, flying fish, and young turtles being also eaten. To see a Frigate-bird plunge, however, is no uncommon occurrence, and the habit of forcing Terns, Boobies, and the like to disgorge their prey, which is caught before it reaches the waves, must not be forgotten.[85] If secured in an awkward position the captures are tossed up in the air, caught again and swallowed. The note, a harsh croak or cackle, is seldom heard. The nest of small sticks, which the birds tear off upon the wing, is generally in trees or bushes, though occasionally on the ground or on a bare rock; it is often {83}very slight, and almost invariably contains one egg, resembling that of the Cormorant. The young are fed by regurgitation, and both sexes are said to incubate, sitting very closely, and merely snapping at an intruder. The feathers are used for head-dresses in the Pacific Islands.

Fam. V. PELECANIDAE.–_Pelecanus onocrotalus_, the Pelican, of South-East Europe, North-East and South-West Africa, reported also from France, Germany, and Denmark, is white with a rosy or salmon tinge, the primaries being black, and the moderate occipital crest and stiff elongated feathers of the lower fore-neck washed with yellow. The lores and orbits are naked, while an enormous dilatable semi-transparent pouch fills the space between the branches of the lower jaw. According to Mr. Dresser,[86] these parts and a fleshy knob appearing on the forehead in spring are yellow, the bill is bluish-grey with pink sides marked with red, and the feet are also pink. These colours, however, may vary with the season. In this species, and to a certain extent in _P. erythrorhynchus_, the feathering on the forehead ends in a point, but elsewhere is more or less concave anteriorly. Closely allied forms of doubtful validity are _P. minor_, with a somewhat similar range, _P. sharpii_ of West Africa, and _P. mitratus_ of South Africa. _P. crispus_, occupying a slightly more eastern area than _P. onocrotalus_, is distinguished from it by the curled filamentous plumes which overhang the sides of the head, the lack of rosy tints, and the flesh-coloured orbits. _P. erythrorhynchus_ of temperate North America, found in winter down to Guatemala, resembles the last-named, but has a still more pendent nuptial crest, and in the breeding season develops a curious triangular horny excrescence on the middle of the culmen, shed about May. The chest and wing-coverts show a little yellow, the bill and naked parts are reddish, the feet orange-red, while the lower jaw is densely feathered. _P. rufescens_ of the Ethiopian Region, apparently identical with _P. philippensis_ of South Asia, is white, with black primaries, and a grey shade on the secondaries, tail, crested head, or even lower surface; the back is rose-coloured; the stiff feathers on the fore-neck, the bill and pouch, are yellowish, with vertical red lines on the latter. The remainder of the bare skin is flesh-coloured, and the feet are pink. _P. fuscus_ of the warmer coasts of North America, the range of which south of Panama is uncertain, and depends upon the {84}validity of _P. molinae_ of Peru and Chili, has a white or occasionally yellowish head, silvery-grey upper parts with dusky streaks, and browner under parts. The crested nape is chestnut, varying to blackish; the bill and loral region are grey or bluish, the dark-tipped maxilla being spotted with red; the pouch is red, or dusky, like the feet; the bare orbits are blue. _P. conspicillatus_ of Australia and Southern New Guinea is white, with black wings and tail and a yellow wash on the chest; the bill, feet, and naked parts are yellowish-white, with a blue tinge on the two first and a similarly coloured ring round the orbits, which are divided by a feathered space from the lores. In this Family the sexes are similar; the young being usually crestless, and of a brown hue, with yellowish or dusky pouch and occasionally white mottlings.

Pelicans inhabit not only tidal waters, but also swampy districts and inland lakes, traversing in some cases vast distances on migration, and being usually found in company. Though {85}heavy, and of enormous size, they fly buoyantly and swiftly, with the neck drawn in upon the shoulders and the feet extended behind; while at times they soar in spiral fashion to great altitudes, and circle around with alternate flapping and sailing movements. On land the gait is awkward and waddling, and great difficulty is experienced in rising; but some species habitually perch, and all are very proficient in the water, swimming, diving, or plunging from great heights, according to their various customs. The food consists almost entirely of moderate-sized fish taken by the bird either by pouncing down sharply from above, or, when quiescent on the surface, by immersing the head or disappearing totally from sight with a somersault. The prey is chiefly sought in shallows, and is retained in the pouch until the birds return to land, or until it is transferred half-macerated to the young; occasionally the adults may be seen gorged after feeding, sitting upon the water or basking in the rays of the sun. The deep loud note is very seldom heard. Pelicans usually breed in colonies in wild districts, though occasionally near villages,[87] the nest, when on the branches of trees, being of sticks with a lining of twigs or roots, as in _P. philippensis_; at other times it is a rough mound of gravel and rubbish on the ground with a slight cavity above, as is often the case in the American species, which also lay in mere depressions in the sand, the localities chosen being generally islands in lakes or rivers; the European forms amass a pile of reeds and grasses among aquatic herbage in like places or swamps, while the Australian constructs a large fabric of sticks and water-plants in similar spots or on the summits of rocky islets. The eggs, varying from one to five, but ordinarily two or three in number, are white or bluish-white with a chalky incrustation, soon becoming soiled and often stained with blood. The parents are as a rule shy and easily scared from the nest, where the smell from the refuse fish and excrement is in many cases intolerable. Incubation lasts about four weeks. Bands of these birds sometimes unite to systematically beat the water for their prey, stowing it in the distensible pouch. In India they are used–frequently with the eyes sewn up–to decoy fish by their oily secretions,[88] and in various countries they are slaughtered for the sake of the latter. The fable of the young being fed with blood from the {86}female's breast may have arisen from confusion of the Pelican with the Flamingo, which ejects a blood-like liquid from its mouth.[89]

Of fossil Steganopodes we have _Phaëthon_ from the Pliocene of India; three species of _Pelecanus_ from the same formation of the Siwalik hills, one from the Miocene of Bavaria, one from that of Allier in France, and one from the Queensland drifts; while in England that genus is recorded, on the strength of the humerus, radius, and ulna from the Plistocene of Norfolk and from the Isle of Ely. _Sula_ has occurred in the Miocene of Carolina, and of Auvergne and Ronzon in France; the giant _Pelagornis_–akin to _Sula_ and _Pelecanus_, but perhaps indicating a distinct family–has also been found in the Miocene near Bordeaux; and _Argillornis_, related to _Sula_, in the Lower Eocene (London Clay) of England. From the same beds we have the remarkable _Odontopteryx toliapica_, with coarsely serrated edges to the jaws; _Phalacrocorax_ has been met with in the North American Pliocene, the same strata of the Siwalik hills, the Miocene of Allier and the Orléannais in France, and the Pampean of Argentina, _Actiornis anglicus_ of Lydekker being a close ally from the Hampshire Eocene; _Plotus nanus_ has been described from the Mare aux Songes in Mauritius and from Central Madagascar, _P. parvus_ from Queensland.

The Sub-Order ARDEAE contains the Families _Ardeidae_ and _Scopidae_, in which the body is often compressed, the head and eyes are large, and the neck is long. Most members of the former have a long, straight, sharp bill with rounded culmen and flattened sides, the edges being commonly serrated and the maxilla notched; it may be comparatively small, as in _Zebrilus_, but is usually stout, and in _Cancroma_ is extraordinarily broad and depressed, with prominent keel and somewhat dilatable skin beneath, the form resembling that of an inverted boat. _Balaeniceps_ (Fig. 27) has a huge beak, which is not only flattened and swollen, but has a ridge on the culmen terminating in a hook, the maxilla having an undulating outline above and following the strong upward curve of the mandible below, while its sides are grooved. So peculiar, indeed, is this bird that it might well stand alone in a Sub-family _Balaenicipitinae_, as opposed to the _Ardeinae_, if not referred to the Storks, where many writers have placed it. In _Scopus_ the bill is acute, keeled, greatly compressed, and laterally grooved, with a small hook at the tip. The tibia is usually bare {87}below, though occasionally feathered, as in _Ardetta_ and _Zebrilus_; the metatarsus being remarkably long, except in such forms as _Nycticorax_, _Botaurus_, and _Ardetta_. The latter member is covered anteriorly with transverse or hexagonal scales, which become smaller or reticulated behind, and show a decided tendency to fusion in many cases. The toes are long, with a distinct web between the middle and outer; the claws are generally short and curved, though elongated, slender, and nearly straight in _Botaurus_ and _Ardetta_; that of the middle digit being toothed on the inner side, save in _Balaeniceps_. The wing is somewhat rounded, yet long, and has eleven primaries–reduced to ten in _Scopus_–and from eleven to eighteen secondaries; the fairly even tail is short or moderate, with from ten to twelve broad stiffish feathers, except in _Botaurus_ and _Ardetta_, where the ten rectrices are soft and abbreviated. The tongue is usually long and pointed, but in _Cancroma_, _Balaeniceps_, and _Scopus_ it is very short; the lores and orbits are naked, save in _Scopus_, as is the malar region in _Tigrornis_ and _Tigrisoma_, while the last at times has the throat bare, or merely feathered centrally. The nostrils are impervious only in _Cancroma_ and _Balaeniceps_. The nestlings are uniformly covered with sparse hair-like down. The state of the chick is unrecorded in _Balaeniceps_ and _Scopus_. The furcula is generally V-shaped, the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, and an aftershaft is present, the latter and the syringeal muscles being much reduced in _Balaeniceps_. Crests and decorative plumes are common, as will be seen below.

Of especial importance are the large, thick, "powder-down patches," or greasy yellow spaces covered with tufts of grey or black filaments, disintegrating into bluish or whitish powder. _Balaeniceps_ has a big pair on the lower back, _Botaurus_ and _Ardetta_ an additional couple on the breast, and the remainder of the Ardeidae two more on the abdomen, except _Cancroma_ which possesses still another pair on the upper back. In _Scopus_ they are absent. The use is uncertain, and the occurrence quite irregular.

Fam. VI. ARDEIDAE.–There are few persons in Britain who are not to some extent acquainted with the habits of the Common Heron or Hern, for it may be seen on the coast as well as on inland waters, and now breeds in more localities than formerly, though in smaller numbers; while of the remainder of the Family the Bitterns alone differ conspicuously in their mode of life. Herons are shy, solitary birds, frequenting lakes, fens, and rivers, where they {88}may often be seen standing ankle-deep in the water, and watching with untiring patience for the prey which never seems to satisfy their appetite. They rarely swim and walk but little. The majority breed in large colonies; but Bitterns (_Botaurus_), Little Bitterns (_Ardetta_), and Green Herons (_Butorides_) are notable exceptions, being, moreover, skulking and nocturnal in habit, and agreeing in the latter respect with Night-Herons (_Nycticorax_). The mud-flats commonly found on sandy shores provide excellent feeding ground, and thence old and young may be seen winging their way at considerable altitudes with leisurely flapping flight–rarely accelerated–to roost at night on the customary trees or rocks. Bitterns and their nearest allies are seldom seen far from marshes, flying noiselessly with laboured action and at a comparatively slow pace; they are, however, adepts at running or climbing among the water-plants, and perch with ease; while they often assume an upright position with the bill vertical, and thereby closely resemble the surrounding reeds, the deception being occasionally enhanced by the bird turning as if on a pivot and facing the spectator constantly.[90] Herons fly with the head drawn back, therein differing from the rest of the Order, and in some cases roost or bask in the sun on one leg; they are usually graceful and stately, the beautiful Egrets moving more easily on land than their kindred, and being somewhat less wary. The voice is a harsh croak or guttural sound, that of the Night-Heron verging upon a quack; while the Bitterns, besides the common cry, utter a booming or bellowing note in the breeding season, generally heard at night or early in the morning, the method of production of which is not at present quite clear. _Ardetta_ gives vent to a somewhat similar but weaker boom or grunt, and most species are noisy at the nest, hissing or screaming sharply. The diet consists largely of fish, but is varied by small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, grasshoppers and other insects, molluscs, crustaceans, and worms, the digestion being very rapid and the birds seldom gorged. In the shallows the majority of the family stand motionless, and spear their prey with the beak as it passes, occasionally mauling it before swallowing; but some move from place to place, while the Buff-backed Heron (_Ardea bubulcus_) habitually picks insects from the backs or sides of the cattle. The nest, commonly situated {89}on lofty trees, though frequently on low bushes, ivy-covered cliffs, flat rocks, or reeds and herbage in swamps, is often a large fabric of sticks without lining or with a slight bedding of grass, leaves, and the like, but may be a mere mass of rushes and flags; the tree-building forms at times resorting to the ground and _vice versâ_. Bitterns generally crush down the aquatic vegetation and add softer materials on this substructure, depositing four or five olive-drab eggs; _Ardetta_ in some cases does the same, but the eggs are bluish- or greenish-white; whereas those of the Herons proper are of a greenish- or whitish-blue colour of varying depth, and exceptionally amount to six or seven. _Butorides_ not uncommonly lays only two. If the first set is removed a second is often produced after a short interval; but the young remain long in the nest. Incubation lasts from sixteen to thirty days. Herons were of old protected by law, as affording an excellent quarry for Falcons, while the flesh was highly esteemed; when wounded, however, they must be carefully approached, as they use the bill with deadly effect, and aim at the captor's eye. In India they are used as decoy-birds with the eyes sewn up.

The following will sufficiently shew the coloration; the largest species is _Ardea goliath_; _Ardetta_ furnishes the smallest forms.

_Botaurus stellaris_, the Bittern, which bred so lately as 1868 in Norfolk, and occurs throughout the warmer parts of the Palaearctic and the whole of the Ethiopian Region, is buff, with black bars above and streaks below, black crown, nape, and stripes down the side of the neck, and chestnut bands on the primaries. _B. lentiginosus_, distinguished by the nearly uniform brown primaries, is rarely found in Britain, but inhabits North America, probably meeting about Nicaragua with _B. pinnatus_ of tropical South America, which lacks the neck-stripes; while _B. poeciloptilus_ of the Australian Region has much of the back brown. The neck-feathers in these birds form an elongated ruff. _Ardetta minuta_ of Central and Southern Europe, Western Asia, and the northern half of Africa, formerly known to have bred in England, is greenish-black, with buff neck, wing-coverts, and under surface, the latter slightly streaked with dusky. These streaks are more decided in other species, which are often greyer, browner, or more ruddy above; _A. cinnamomea_ of the Indian Region is almost entirely rufous, while all have a slight head-tuft. A fuller crest marks _Zebrilus pumilus_ of northern South America, wherein {90}the upper parts are black with fulvous undulations, and the lower parts correspondingly mottled. The "Tiger-Bitterns" (_Tigrisoma_) extend from Central America to North Argentina, the four or five forms varying chiefly in the amount of naked skin on the throat. _T. brasiliense_ is blackish with rusty vermiculations above, and reddish-grey below, the head being mainly chestnut, and the tips of the remiges and spots on the breast white. _Tigrornis leucolophus_ of West Africa has a narrow white crest, the neck-feathers hanging loosely down, as in _Tigrisoma_. _Zonerodius heliosylus_ of New Guinea is black above with fulvous bands, and has white bars on the wing; the rump and fore-neck are white with dusky markings, the lower parts yellowish-white. The genus _Butorides_, connecting the Bitterns and the Herons, exhibits somewhat elongated plumes on the crown, fore-neck, and scapular region. These small birds, variegated with glossy green, black, grey, and chestnut, and often streaked with white, occur chiefly in the Neotropical and Australian Regions, though _B. virescens_ at least inhabits North America and _B. atricapilla_ the Ethiopian countries.

_Nycticorax_ (Night-Heron) is an almost cosmopolitan genus, remarkable for the long linear blackish or white occipital feathers, from two to ten in number, apparently lost for a time after breeding. In our occasional visitor, _N. griseus_, of the Palaearctic, Indian, and Ethiopian Regions, and the barely separable _N. naevius_ of America, the colour is greenish-black, with grey neck, rump, wings, and tail, white cheeks and lower parts. _N. leuconotus_ of the Ethiopian Region has the neck rufous, the back white, and the under surface spotted with dusky; _N._ (_Pilerodius_) _pileatus_ of tropical South America is white with black crown; _N._ (_Nycterodius_) _violaceus_ of the same districts, which extends to the United States, is plumbeous, with yellowish-white crown and black stripes above, the scapulars being somewhat decomposed; _N. pauper_, confined to the Galapagos, is very similar; _N._ (_Syrigma_) _sibilatrix_ of South Brazil, Chili, and Argentina, is grey, with blackish head and remiges, rufous markings on the face and wing-coverts, and yellowish-white breast; _N._ (_Gorsachius_) _goisagi_, ranging from India and the Malay countries to Japan, is red-brown, with buff and white lower parts, the whole plumage being marked with dusky; while _N. caledonicus_ of the Australian Region has the upper parts rich buff, the lower parts white, and only the head black. _Cancroma cochlearia_, the Boat-billed Night-Heron of South {91}America, is blue-grey with white on the forehead and neck; the head, crest, and flanks being black, and the belly cinnamon. _C. zeledoni_ of Central America differs in its reddish fore-neck.

_Ardea_, another world-wide genus, may be subdivided as below if desired,[91] but the supposed generic characters are hardly satisfactory. _A._ (_Buphus_) _bubulcus_, the Buff-backed Heron of South Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Caspian, is white, with buff crown and nape, and elongated occipital, scapular, and jugular plumes of the same colour, developed in the breeding season; _A. coromanda_, with orange head, neck, and scapulars, replacing it from the Caspian eastward and reaching Japan. The former has once visited Britain, while _A._ (_Ardeola_) _ralloides_, the Squacco Heron, has done so frequently. This bird, which ranges from the Canaries and Central Europe to South Africa and Persia, is warm buff, with white wings, tail, breast, and belly, the darker back possessing long hair-like plumes which cover the tail, the jugulars being buff, and the head graced by a tuft of long white feathers, margined with black. _A._ (_Lepterodius_) _gularis_ of tropical Africa and Madagascar, and _A. asha_, extending from the Persian Gulf to India, are dusky-slate with white throat, and have moderate scapular and pectoral plumes, with a nuptial crest. _A._ (_Demiegretta_) _sacra_, ranging from Bengal to Japan, Australia, and the Pacific, differs in having only a white streak down the throat, _A. greyi_ being a white phase. _A._ (_Melanophoyx_) _ardesiaca_ of the Ethiopian Region is almost entirely slaty-black, with elongated occipital, dorsal, and jugular feathers; _A._ (_Notophoyx_) _picata_ of Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas, is bluer, and nearly white below; while _A. pacifica_ of that country is greener, with white head and rufescent dorsal plumes. _A._ (_Dichromanassa_) _rufa_ of the warmer parts of North America is plumbeous, with reddish head and neck, its white phase being denominated _A. pealii_; here nearly all the head- and neck-feathers are elongated, and the filamentous scapulars extend beyond the tail. _A._ (_Hydranassa_) _tricolor_, found from the Southern United States to Brazil, is grey-blue, purple, rufous, and white, with shorter seasonal plumes than the preceding; _A._ (_Florida_) _caerulea_, with a slightly more northern range, is slaty-blue, with maroon head and neck, a variable amount of white when immature, and extremely long scapulars; while _A._ (_Agamia_) _agami_ of central and northern South America is metallic green, with rufous and white throat, rufous belly, black cheeks and nape; the very long occipital and dorsal plumes being grey, as is the fore-neck, and the recurved feathers of the sides of the neck reddish.

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_A._ (_Garzetta_) _garzetta_, the "Little Egret," which has strayed to Britain, and extends from South Europe to the whole of Africa, India, and Japan, is entirely white, with long filamentous scapular and moderate jugular plumes and two lengthened crest-feathers, all of which are said to be temporarily lost after breeding. _A. nigripes_, ranging from Java to Australia, is barely distinguishable, but the American representative, _A. candidissima_, has a large occipital tuft. _A._ (_Herodias_) _alba_, the Great White Heron, another of our rare visitors, extends from the middle of Europe to most of Africa, Central Asia, and the Burmese countries, beyond which a doubtfully distinct species, with yellower bill, reaches Australia and New Zealand; the American _A. egretta_, however, differs in its black legs. The breeding adult is white, with very long decomposed scapular and lengthened jugular plumes, but no crest. The most typical forms of _Ardea_ are large slaty-coloured birds, varied by black, rufous, and white, the head being commonly darker and the lower parts striped; while two slender occipital plumes are, {93}in most cases, developed in the nuptial period, and the scapular and jugular feathers are elongated, though not decomposed. The Common Heron (_A. cinerea_), ranging through Europe, Africa, and Asia, to Japan and Australia, needs no description, but the Purple Heron, _A._ (_Phoyx_) _purpurea_, though it often occurs in Britain, is less well known. It is grey, with black crown and black stripes down the sides of the buff neck, chestnut scapulars, rufous, grey, and black jugular plumes, and maroon breast; the range being from Central and Southern Europe to South Africa, China, and the Philippines. _A. herodias_ of North America meets in northern South America the white-necked _A. cocoi_, both species resembling _A. cinerea_, but the former having rufous thighs and edge of the wing. The white _A. occidentalis_, of Florida and Cuba,[92] was formerly thought to be an instance of dichromatism. The African _A. goliath_ has the head and neck rufous and the under surface chiefly maroon.

The sexes are usually alike; but the female has ordinarily shorter plumes, and may be duller, as may the young, though the stages of plumage are not yet completely worked out. White or rufous markings are often noticeable, especially in immature specimens of _Ardea_; there is little red about the head in those of _Dichromanassa_, though in _Hydranassa_ the amount is greater than in the adult; those of _Florida_ are generally very white; and, conversely, white {94}species often shew grey tints in early life; while immature examples of _Nycticorax_ differ entirely from their parents, being brown with white or buff spotting above, and white with dusky stripes below.

The bill, feet, naked lores, and orbits may be reddish, bluish, green, yellow, brown, or black.

_Balaeniceps rex_, the Shoe-bill, of the White Nile, has a short crest, and is brownish-grey with blackish wings, tail, and feet, the bill being yellow with dusky mottlings. It usually forms large flocks, and frequents bushy morasses. The flight is Heron-like, and the birds will often settle on trees; the young run about with extended wings and clattering bills.[93] The food consists of fish, frogs, snakes, molluscs, and even carrion. A mere hole in the dry soil often contains the chalky white eggs, from two to twelve in number, but a lining of herbage is frequently added.

{95}Fam. VII. SCOPIDAE.–_Scopus umbretta_, the Hammer-head, of Madagascar and a large part of the Ethiopian Region, is purplish-brown, with black tail-bars, wider towards the tip; the head exhibits a thick erectile crest, generally carried horizontally; the bill is black and the feet are brownish. It frequents wooded districts near water, and is usually found in pairs; not being very shy, except when breeding, and being more active at dusk than in the daytime. At night it roosts in trees. The neck is slightly curved in flight, but the feet are outstretched, while the gait on the ground is deliberate. The note is a harsh quack or weak metallic sound; the food consists of fish, reptiles, frogs, worms, molluscs, and insects captured in shallow water, and while feeding the birds have a curious habit of skipping round each other with extended wings. The nest is an enormous structure of sticks, lined with roots, grass, rushes, or clay, having a hole at the side, and ordinarily a flat top; it is placed in a tree, on a rocky ledge, or exceptionally on the ground. Three to five white eggs form the complement. Native imagination associates this species with witchcraft.

Besides the extinct brevipennate _Nycticorax megacephalus_ of Rodriguez, known to the first colonists, and the fossil _Butorides mauritianus_ of the Mare aux Songes, this Sub-Order furnishes _Proherodius oweni_ from the London Clay (Lower Eocene); _Ardea_ from the Miocene of France and Germany, and the Pliocene of Oregon.

Fam. VIII. CICONIIDAE.–Of the Sub-Order CICONIAE, the first Family is that of the Storks, which have long necks and also long stout beaks, usually straight and fairly cylindrical, but occasionally compressed, as in _Leptoptilus_, upturned towards the tip, as in _Mycteria_, or decurved, as in _Tantalus_; in _Anastomus_ there is a wide gap between the grooved mandibles, the edges of the maxilla possessing fine horny lamellae. Very remarkable, moreover, are the unprotected pervious nostrils, which are mere perforations in the bony sheath. The tibia is partly bare, while the elongated metatarsus is covered with hexagonal scales, becoming more reticulated behind in _Leptoptilus_ and _Mycteria_; the partially webbed front toes and flattened claws are in most cases very short–though lengthened and more slender in _Tantalus_–and rest upon horny pads,[94] the hallux being slightly elevated. The wings are ample and fairly long, with eleven stout primaries in _Ciconia_ and twelve elsewhere, and from fourteen to twenty-five secondaries, the inner of which are often greatly {96}developed. The short tail is normally even or slightly rounded, with twelve broad feathers, but in _Dissura_ it is deeply forked[95] and rigid, while the unusually stiff coverts extending from beneath are easily mistaken for rectrices. In _Leptoptilus_ these elongated coverts are soft, and are the genuine "Marabou feathers." The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue rudimentary, the aftershaft present or absent, and there are no powder-down patches; the trachea in the male of _Tantalus ibis_ has several intrathoracic convolutions,[96] while there is an entire want of syringeal muscles. The adults and young possess uniform down, that of the nestlings being greyish or whitish.

Storks, though easily tamed, are naturally shy, solitary birds, which frequent wooded or open country on plains or hills, usually near inland waters, creeks, or salt-water lagoons; the White Stork and the Adjutant are, however, instances of somewhat different habits, the former showing a predilection for homesteads, and the latter being protected as a scavenger in some parts of India; while _Ciconia abdimii_ is considered a "bird of blessing" by the natives of Africa. Flocks are occasionally seen. The flight is graceful and noiseless, but powerful and rapid, the neck and legs being carried in line with the body, and immense heights being often attained by soaring and circling movements. No difficulty is experienced in walking, and many species stalk solemnly about in pursuit of prey, whether in water or on dry land; not uncommonly they rest with the whole metatarsus upon the ground, or stand on one foot with the bill touching the breast. They are ordinarily quiescent during the heat of the day, and at night frequently roost in trees. _Mycteria senegalensis_ and _M. indica_ are said to dance around their mates, the former skipping and bowing, and the latter fluttering its extended wings, which touch those of its partner, while advancing the head and making a clatter with the bill.[97] Generally speaking, this is the only noise Storks produce, owing to the want of voice-muscles; but Adjutants are said to utter a loud grunting croak or bellow, and the young of _Ciconia nigra_ to give vent to a guttural cry. The food consists of fish, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, grasshoppers, and beetles, with small mammals, or even eggs and young of birds; but _Leptoptilus_ is nearly omnivorous and enjoys carrion, including human carcases, {97}_Dissura maguari_ having like habits. _Anastomus_ is called the Shell-Ibis from its cleverness in extracting _Unio_ and other molluscs from their shells, and _Mycteria_ thrusts its bill into the ground in search of grubs. The nests are frequently in tall trees, but may be on ledges or in cavities of cliffs, or on flat tops of rocky hills; the shallow fabric, often of enormous size, being composed of sticks with or without a lining of grass, leaves, moss, rushes, feathers, down, or, exceptionally, clay. Colonies are in most cases formed, but White Storks occupy separate sites on houses, farms, towers, or even cart-wheels purposely erected, and Black Storks breed apart in woods and precipitous gorges. On the other hand, more than thirty nests of _Anastomus_ have been observed in one tree. The eggs, numbering from three to six, are white and chalky, and stain easily. Incubation lasts nearly four weeks. The adult inserts its bill into that of the helpless nestling to feed it, while the male attends constantly upon his sitting mate; we may, however, safely disregard the more fabulous instances of affection recorded.

Wood-Ibises are similar in habits, but they are more gregarious; and build smaller nests of twigs lined with moss, laying as many as eight white eggs, rarely streaked with pale brown.

_Tantalus loculator_, the "Wood-Ibis" of the warmer parts of America, is white, with metallic greenish-black remiges and rectrices, the bare head and upper neck being covered with dusky corrugated skin, and the crown with a smooth plate. The beak and feet are lead-coloured, the under wing-coverts pinkish. _T._ (_Pseudotantalus_) _ibis_ of the Ethiopian Region has only the front of the head naked, but is rosy towards the upper and under wing-coverts, the smooth face and feet being red and the bill yellow. _T. leucocephalus_ of the Indian and Indo-Chinese countries differs in its yellow face, while the Indo-Malay _T. cinereus_ has it red and black.

_Anastomus oscitans_, the "Open-bill," another Indian and Indo-Chinese species, is white, with black scapulars, remiges, and rectrices, yellow bill and feet; the Ethiopian _A. lamelligerus_ is metallic black varied by a little rufous, the shafts of the feathers of the fore-neck and lower parts in adults expanding into flat shining, horn-like plates at the tip. _Leptoptilus dubius_, the "Adjutant" of the Indian Region, is greenish-black above and white below, the fleshy-red head and neck being naked with a few hairs, and a white ruff surmounting the shoulders, while a huge ruddy pouch, communicating with the nasal cavity, hangs below the throat. The {98}bill is greenish and the feet greyish, the former being yellowish and the latter black in the two following species. The Ethiopian _L. crumenifer_ has the bare portions spotted with black; _L. javanicus_ of Manchuria and the Indian Region has some white on the wing-coverts, yellow naked parts with a horny greenish crown, a line of hair on the nape, and a tuft on the fore-neck.

_Mycteria americana_, the "Jabiru," ranging from Texas to Argentina, is white, with black head, neck, bill, and feet; the naked head having a hairy patch on the occiput, and the bare neck a red distensible basal band. The Australian and Papuan _M._ (_Xenorhynchus_) _australis_ is black with purple and green gloss, except the back and lower surface, which are white; the head and neck are feathered, the bill is black, the feet are red. The Indian _M. indica_ is barely separable. _M._ (_Ephippiorhynchus_) _senegalensis_, the Ethiopian "Saddle-billed Stork," differs in having a triangular frontal shield of yellow skin, a naked crimson pectoral spot, a crimson bill with black median band, and black metatarsi with reddish joints. _Dissura episcopus_ of the Indian and Ethiopian {99}Regions is metallic black with white abdomen and under tail-coverts, downy white head and neck with black crown, reddish bill and feet. _D. maguari_ of South America has the head and neck feathered, naked red lores and sides of the throat, white plumage with black wings and tail, yellowish bill and red feet.

_Ciconia_ (_Abdimia_) _abdimii_ of the Ethiopian Region is bronzy-black with white lower surface; the chin, membranous forehead, and tip of the bill being orange-red, the remainder of the bill greenish and the bare cheeks bluish. _C. nigra_, the Black Stork of British lists, is iridescent black, with white breast and belly, red bill, feet, and orbits; _C. alba_, the White Stork, a much more common visitor here, is white with black wings and orbits, red bill and feet. The former–reckoning for the irregular distribution characteristic of the Family–may be said to inhabit Europe, Palaearctic Asia, and North Africa, wintering southward to India and Cape Colony; the latter is more abundant within a like area, and is represented in East Siberia, China, and Japan by _C. boyciana_ with black bill and red orbits.

The sexes in this group are similar; but when immature the whiter species are often more dusky, and the blacker species brownish, while the bill and legs may then be greenish instead of red, as in _C. nigra_, or the head and neck more feathered, as in _Tantalus_.

The Fossils referred to this Family are _Propelargus_ of the Upper Eocene of France, _Pelargodes_, _Tantalus_, and possibly _Leptoptilus_ of its Miocene; _Amphipelargus_ of the Pliocene of Samos; _Palaeociconia_ of the Plistocene of Brazil; _Palaeopelargus_ and _Xenorhynchus_ of that of Queensland.

Fam. IX. The IBIDIDAE, connected with the Storks through _Tantalus_, may be divided into the Sub-families (1) _Ibidinae_ or Ibises, and (2) _Plataleinae_ or Spoonbills. In the former the long bill is weak, nearly cylindrical, and strongly curved; in the latter flattened, narrowed in the middle, and dilated into a terminal spoon, which finally turns downwards. The nasal grooves are remarkably elongated, the skull is somewhat square in _Thaumatibis_ and _Graptocephalus_. The tibia is partly bare, the metatarsus of medium length and often stout, with transverse or hexagonal scales becoming almost reticulated behind, or even in front in _Hagedashia_ and _Carphibis_; the toes are generally long, with short anterior webs and variable claws, that of the third digit being sometimes serrated. The moderate wings have eleven primaries and from fourteen to {100}nineteen secondaries; the tail of twelve rectrices is usually short and even, or slightly rounded, but may be long, as in _Comatibis_, _Geronticus_, _Cercibis_, and _Theristicus_; in the last two of which it is cuneate. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue rudimentary, the nostrils are pervious, an aftershaft is present, but there are no powder-down patches or syringeal muscles. _Platalea leucorodia_ has the trachea convoluted like a figure of 8 in old birds. Adults and nestlings are uniformly downy, the latter varying from black with a white band over the crown in _Plegadis_ to white in _Platalea_.

Sub-fam. 1. _Ibidinae._–Ibises are shy birds, which inhabit not only marshy spots and wooded country, but also the driest of plains and rocky gorges, being found both in pairs and in flocks. The flight is tolerably high and rapid, with extended neck and legs, most species habitually sailing or circling aloft, though _Plegadis_ rises with a whirr and skims along at no great elevation. On the ground the gait is graceful, and swimming is certainly practised at times, nor are perching or roosting on trees or reeds uncommon habits. The usual note is loud and harsh, _Ibis melanocephala_ being said to have a booming call[98] and _Inocotis_ a melancholy scream[99]; the food consists chiefly of aquatic insects, molluscs, crustaceans, and worms; but small fish, lizards, newts, frogs, grasshoppers, and beetles form part of the diet; _Geronticus_, which does not despise carrion, acts as a scavenger. Most Ibises wade in pursuit of prey, whether in fresh or salt water, moving the bill to and fro, and probing the subjacent mud. Some species breed apart, others in colonies; the nest being placed on trees or low bushes, and more rarely among reeds, or, as in _Geronticus_ and _Comatibis_, in holes in cliffs or on ledges. The structure is not remarkably large, and is composed of sticks or stems of plants, with or without a lining of herbage, straw, or roots; the eggs, from two to four in number, being deep green-blue in _Plegadis_, pale blue in _Graptocephalus_, similar or darker in _Inocotis_, olive-green in _Hagedashia_, and greenish-white in _Ibis_ and _Eudocimus_, or even brownish in the last-named. In all except the first two there are generally reddish or brownish markings. Incubation lasts about three weeks.

_Eudocimus ruber_ and _E. albus_, the Scarlet and White Ibises of tropical America, are respectively coloured as the names import, the tips of the longer primaries and of the bill being black, while the {101}bare front of the head and throat, the remainder of the bill and the feet are red. The former, of more eastern range, strays to the southern United States, the latter occurring farther north, and breeding in Florida. _Lampribis olivacea_ of West Africa is coppery olive-green, with buff centres to the feathers of the loose occipital crest and under parts, the wings being more metallic, and the naked forehead and loral region black. The bill and feet are red. _Plegadis falcinellus_, the Glossy Ibis, which occasionally visits Britain, is found irregularly in Northern Europe and commonly in the south, extending through most of Asia and North Africa, and migrating as far as Australia and Natal. It also occurs in the South-Eastern United States and the West Indies. The head, neck, mantle, and lower surface are chestnut, the remaining parts purplish-green and bronzy, with bare greenish lores and blackish bill and feet; _P. guarauna_, which represents the genus from the Western and Southern United States and the Hawaiian Islands to Patagonia, having red lores, white feathers round the beak, and at times red bill and feet. _P. ridgwayi_ of Peru and Chili is purplish-black below, with reddish-grey bill and black feet. _Cercibis oxycerca_, found from Colombia to Upper Amazonia, is dark olive-green with a little purple and blue gloss, the naked face and throat being pinkish and the bill and feet yellowish. The crest is slight, while a line of feathers ascends the throat. _Lophotibis cristata_, confined to Madagascar, is reddish-chestnut, with white wings, blue-green tail, and an enormous crest combining all three colours; the bill is greenish, the feet and the bare orbital region are red. _Phimosus infuscatus_, ranging from Colombia to Argentina, is bronzy-green with purple reflexions, the feet, bill, and face being pink, with papillae on the forehead and cheeks. The slightly crested _Harpiprion cayennensis_, occurring from Panama to South Brazil, is similarly coloured, but has greenish-grey bill, feet, and naked skin on the lores, chin, and sides of the throat. _Molybdophanes caerulescens_ of Brazil and Argentina is greyish-green with dark bluish remiges, grey-brown crown, nuchal crest and lower parts, white frontal band, naked black chin and warty lores, black bill and yellow feet. _Theristicus caudatus_ of Guiana is greenish-brown, with orange-buff head and neck, blackish under parts, and partially white wing-coverts; the papillose lores, upper throat, and orbits being naked and black, and a whitish tuft adorning the chin. The bill is black with greenish tip, and the feet are red. {102}_T. melanopis_, differing in its rufous breast, inhabits America from Peru and Brazil southwards; _T. branickii_ being probably identical. _Bostrychia carunculata_ of North-East Africa is greenish-brown with metallic reflexions and white on the wing-coverts, the crested head and under surface having whitish margins to the feathers, and the bill, feet, and a long thin gular caruncle being red. _Hagedashia hagedash_, of the Ethiopian Region generally, is somewhat similar but brighter, with no white on the wing and no crest or wattle; the dusky lores are bare and warty, the bill is black with crimson base to the culmen, and the feet are chiefly red. _Geronticus calvus_ of South Africa, except for its shorter crest and greenish-white fore-neck, is not unlike _Comatibis comata_ of Northern Africa, Arabia, and the Euphrates, which is metallic greenish-black with a large bronzy-red patch on each wing, a fine nuchal tuft of narrow feathers, red bill, feet, and bare skin of the head and throat. There is some question here as to the colour of the naked spaces. _Nipponia nippon_, of East Siberia, Corea, Japan, China, and Formosa, is white with pinkish remiges and rectrices; a long pendent crest graces the nape, the bare face is vermilion, the bill black with red tip, while the feet are lighter red. _Graptocephalus davisoni_ of the Burmese Countries and Cochin China and _Inocotis papillosus_ of India are both dusky brown, with bluish-black wings and tail, a white patch on the wing-coverts, greyish bill, and red feet; but whereas in the former the black naked head is separated by a bare bluish-white collar from the neck, in the latter the hinder crown is dotted with red papillae. _Carphibis spinicollis_ of Australia is black with purple and coppery sheen, the sides of the downy neck, the tail, and the abdomen being white, and the feathers of the chest, which are converted into stiff straw-like processes, yellowish. The naked head and throat are black, the bill is black with brown bars at the base, the tibiae are crimson, and the metatarsi dusky. The huge _Thaumatibis gigantea_ of Cochin China is blackish-brown glossed with green, and shows much grey on the wing; the scapulars are decomposed and the head and upper neck bare; the nape is crossed by black bars, and the bill and feet are dull red. _Ibis aethiopica_, the Sacred Ibis of the ancient Egyptians, of which mummies are so often found in the temples, represented to that people the moon-god Thoth, and is now the Abou-Hannes or Father John of Abyssinia. It inhabits the Ethiopian Region, {103}being most plentiful on the Upper Nile, though wandering to the Persian Gulf, Egypt, and Algeria. The bare head and neck, the bill, feet, and tips of the primaries are black; the decomposed inner secondaries and scapulars, which in summer curve gracefully over the hinder parts, are iridescent black, the remainder of the plumage is white. _I. bernieri_ of Madagascar, and probably Aldabra Island, has white primaries, as has _I. melanocephala_, ranging from India and Java to Japan. The latter, moreover, develops in the breeding season a ruff of long plumes on the fore-neck, similar to that of _I. molucca_ of Australia, Papuasia, and Ceram, which is distinguished by ten pink bars crossing the occiput and nape, and pink spots on the crown.

The sexes are similar, but young Ibises are comparatively dull, and have feathered heads and necks, while crests and ornamental plumes are generally absent. In immature examples of _Ibis_ and elsewhere the head and neck are black and white, in _Nipponia_ the plumage is apparently grey, in _Eudocimus_ chiefly brown.

Sub-fam. 2. _Plataleinae._–Spoonbills are shy gregarious birds, frequenting creeks of the sea or marshes, where they may be seen wading ankle-deep in water, hunting for the fish, frogs, crustaceans, molluscs, beetles, and insect-larvae on which they live, or searching the ground in drier spots. They walk sedately, and fly with easy flapping action and outstretched head and legs, now and then rising spirally to float aloft; while swimming, perching, or standing on one leg are ordinary habits. In feeding, the beak is moved from side to side in semicircular fashion, the body acting in unison. There are no true vocal muscles, the voice being a harsh quack or deep Heron-like note; but a clattering of the bill is heard at times, less noisy than in Storks. The nest, when in reed-beds, is a mass of twigs, flags, and the like, placed on the ground or on low bushes; but it is commonly a large platform of sticks in a tree, the three to five roughish eggs being dull white with red-brown spotting. Colonies are nearly always formed.

_Platalea leucorodia_, the Spoonbill, which once bred regularly in England, ranges over Central and Southern Europe and Northern Africa, to Central Asia, Ceylon, and China; _P. regia_ inhabits Australia, and probably Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and New Guinea, straying also to New Zealand; _P. minor_ occurs in China, Corea, Japan, and Formosa; _P. alba_ in the Ethiopian Region with Madagascar. The plumage is white, with bare lores orbits, and throat, and a fine nuchal crest in the breeding season, the fore-neck being tinged with buff, except in the last-named.

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_P. leucorodia_ has yellow naked areas, black feet and bill, with yellow bars and tip to the latter; _P. minor_ differs in having the neck-feathers produced to a point on the black throat; _P. regia_ has the above parts, except a portion of the orbits, black, and _P. alba_ all of them red. The maxilla is transversely corrugated, at least in summer.[100] _Platibis flavipes_ of Australia is white, with no crest, but with black outer webs to the decomposed inner {105}secondaries, and elongated straw-yellow plumes on the fore-neck in the nuptial period; the naked forehead, ocular region, throat, bill, and feet being yellow; while a black line separates the gorge from the feathered parts in the adult. _Ajaja rosea_ of tropical America, which reaches the South-East United States, is rose-pink, with white neck, back, and breast, pinkish-buff tail, and carmine wing- and tail-coverts; the bare head is yellowish-green, the orbits and throat are orange, the bill is greenish-blue with grey and black base, the feet are crimson, while a curly pink tuft is developed on the fore-neck in the breeding season.

The female Spoonbill is like the male. The young seem to be duller, with no crest or ornamental plumes; in some cases the primaries are tipped with black, in _Ajaja_ the head is entirely feathered.

Of fossil forms, _Ibidopsis_ occurs in the Upper Eocene of England, _Ibis_ and _Ibidopodia_, the latter of which connects the Ibises with the Storks, in the Miocene of France, _Ibis_ also in that of Bavaria, _Protibis_ in that of Patagonia, _Platalea_ in the Queensland drifts.

Fams. X.-XI. The Sub-Order PHOENICOPTERI, including the PHOENICOPTERIDAE or Flamingos and the extinct PALAELODIDAE, stands midway between the Storks and the Geese, having been on that account termed AMPHIMORPHAE by Huxley, a term equivalent to the ODONTOGLOSSAE of Nitzsch. The extraordinary Flamingos have very long slender necks and unwieldy-looking bills, high at the base and abruptly bent down in the middle, the maxilla being highly movable and in some cases smaller than the nearly immovable grooved mandible–a condition of affairs seldom found elsewhere, and correlated with the peculiar method of feeding. As in the Anseres, the beak–which is short and straight in the young–is covered with a soft membrane, and ends in a black nail-like process rich in nerves, the margins being furnished in the adult with horny lamellae. The legs are unusually long, with nearly bare tibiae and laterally compressed metatarsi, covered with broad scutes which become smaller posteriorly; the hallux is absent or somewhat elevated and reduced, while the short anterior toes are fully webbed and have flat stunted claws. The wing is fairly long, with twelve primaries and about twenty-two secondaries; the tail is even, with fourteen small weak rectrices. The furcula is U-shaped, the nostrils are pervious, the tongue is thick, an aftershaft is present, and the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial.

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_Phoenicopterus ruber_, ranging from Florida to Pará and the Galápagos, is light vermilion with brighter wing-coverts, the yellowish bill having a black tip and the feet being red; the other forms are rosy-white with the coverts scarlet, while all have black remiges; the naked orbits and lores vary from rose-coloured to yellow, _P. minor_, _P. andinus_, and _P. jamesi_ having feathered chins. _P. roseus_, recorded thrice from Britain and several times from North Germany, while extending from Central Europe, the Canaries, and Cape Verds to the whole of Africa, Lake Baikal, India, and Ceylon, has red feet and a pink bill with black tip; _P. chilensis_, of America south {107}of Central Peru, Uruguay, and perhaps Brazil, has green-grey metatarsi with red joints, the black on the bill reaching above the bend; _P._ (_Phoeniconaias_) _minor_, of the Ethiopian Region, Madagascar, and North-West India, is very like _P. roseus._ _P._ (_Phoenicoparrus_) _andinus_, of the Andes of Bolivia, Chili, and Argentina–the largest species of the Family–and _P. jamesi_, of South Peru and Chili, lack the hallux, and have the base of the bill yellow and the middle red, with yellow and red feet respectively.

The young are chiefly greyish- or buffish-white, with brown or black markings, rarely seen beneath, and duller naked parts; the adults are uniformly downy, the nestlings white and woolly.