. A history of British birds . ck to the ends of the undertail-coverts, white; the legs and toes scarlet; the clawsblack. There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. The whole length of the specimen killed in Dorsetshirewas three feet four inches. From the carpal joint to theend of the wing, twenty-one inches; the length of the beakfrom the point to the angle of the gape, seven inches ;length of the middle toe four inches ; of the tarsus eightinches ; of the naked part above, four inches and a half. The colours in this specimen, which were not those ofmature age, are thus described. He
. A history of British birds . ck to the ends of the undertail-coverts, white; the legs and toes scarlet; the clawsblack. There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. The whole length of the specimen killed in Dorsetshirewas three feet four inches. From the carpal joint to theend of the wing, twenty-one inches; the length of the beakfrom the point to the angle of the gape, seven inches ;length of the middle toe four inches ; of the tarsus eightinches ; of the naked part above, four inches and a half. The colours in this specimen, which were not those ofmature age, are thus described. Head and neck dusky-brown ; wings, tail, and back, black or dusky-brown, withpurple reflections; lower part of breast and belly white ;bill and orbits bright orange ; irides hazel; legs and toespale red. In very young birds the beak, the naked skinaround the eyes, and the legs, are olive-green, the head andneck being then of a reddish-brown. The nestling is covered with a yellowish-grey down. GLOSSY IBIS. EERODIONES. 231IBIDID^.. Plegadis falcinellus (Linn^us*). THE GLOSSY IBIS. Ihis falcinellus. Plegadis, Kaup^.—B^sk long, slender, decurved, large at the base, thepoint depressed, obtuse, rounded ; upper mandible deeply grooved throughoutIts length. Nostrils on the upper surface and near the base of the beak, oblong,narrow, pierced, in a membrane which covers part of the aperture. Face andlores naked, without feathers. Legs rather long, naked above the tarsal joint;three toes in front, one behind ; the anterior toes united by a membrane ; hindtoe long, and resting its length on the ground. Tail of twelve feathers, moderate,even. Wings moderate ; the first quill-feather shorter than the second and thirdwhich are the longest in the wing. Pterylosis more or less stork-like, wantingthe powder-down tracts of the Herons. Tantalus Falcinellus, Linnseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p, 241 (1766).t Natur. System, p. 82 (1829) ; from nXr^yas, a sickle. 232 IBIDIDiE. The family of the Ibises, o
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
