. A history of British birds . the carpal joint to the end of the wing ten inches andthree-quarters ; the first quill-feather shorter than the secondand third, which are nearly equal in length and the longestin the wing. In young birds the head, cheeks, and upper part of theneck behind are dull clove-brown, intermixed with shorthair-like streaks of greyish-white ; on the throat in front,one and sometimes more patches of dull greyish-white,placed rather transversely ; the Avhole of the body aboveand below, the wings and the tail, dull uniform liver-brown,with very little of the glossy tints obs
. A history of British birds . the carpal joint to the end of the wing ten inches andthree-quarters ; the first quill-feather shorter than the secondand third, which are nearly equal in length and the longestin the wing. In young birds the head, cheeks, and upper part of theneck behind are dull clove-brown, intermixed with shorthair-like streaks of greyish-white ; on the throat in front,one and sometimes more patches of dull greyish-white,placed rather transversely ; the Avhole of the body aboveand below, the wings and the tail, dull uniform liver-brown,with very little of the glossy tints observable in older birds,which are obtained gradually. When barely able to fly, theplumage is entirely brown, with a faint lustre on the wings. The nestling is covered with a close black down, with ayellowish V-shaped band over the crown ; throat barred withdull white; bill yellow, with a black tip, and a black bandacross both mandibles near the base ; legs and feet dullflesh-colour. HERODIONES. WHITE SPOONBILL. 237 PLATALEID^.. -Ki^^ Platalea leucorodia, Linnfeus.* THE WHITE SPOONBILL. Platalea leucorodia. Platalea, Linnceusf.—Bill very long, strong, very much flattened, dilatedat the point, rounded in the form of a spoon ; upper mandible channelled andtransversely grooved at the base. Nostrils on the upper surface of the beak,near together, oblong, open, bordered by a membrane. Forehead, lore, orbits,and chin, naked. Legs long, strong, three toes in front, united as far as thesecond articulation by a membrane, the marginal edge of which is deeplyconcave ; hind toe long. Wings rather large ; the third quill-feather nearly aslong as the second, which is the longest in the wing. The Spoonbill is recorded as a British bird by Merrett,on the authority of Dr. Turner, and Sir Kobert Sibbald * Platalea Leucorodia, Linnseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. (1766).f loc. cit. 238 PLATA-LEID.!. speaks of it in his time as an accidental visitor to Scotland;adding that he had received it fr
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
