VII. D@ription ofn new Spectk of MyAcria. By George Shaw, M. D. F. R. S. K P. L. S.

Read December 4, I '798.

HE following is a defcription of a Cpecies of MyAeriu or Jclbiru, t he kin of which was trenfmitted t o me for exami-

nation by the Rev. Mr. Rackett, F. L. S. who received it from Mr. Bryer, of Weymouth.

T h e length, from the tip of the bill to the ends of the claws, was fix feet, two inches, T h e bill was thirteen inches in length, which is alfo the meafure of tha t of the common jabiru. The neck was fifteen inches. T h e body twelve inches. T h e naked part of the thigh eleven inches; the feathered or fleihy part four inches. T h e knee-joint one inch, T h e leg thirteen inches and a half. The foot, to the tip of the midcile toe five inches and a half. T h e two outfide toes are about an inch fiorter than the middle one. T h e back toe fcarcely quite two inches. A very flight approach towards a feinipalinitcd appearance takes place at the firk joint : the claws arc h a l l aild blu1:t. T h c l>ili is pale or whitiih at the bare for near three inches from the fct- ting on of the upper mandible, and one inch and a half from the lower: then fucceeds a broad black zone acrofs both mandibles, about three inchcs wide; well defined on t h e back part, but fame- what irregular in front. From this part the bill is pale, with a flight cafi of reddilfi for about two inches, and from thence grows i.ntcnfclely red or of a verniilioii colour to the tip. On each M e the

6 b d e

I t is iaid to be a native of Senegal.

pU. S ~ a w " s D$cr;Ption of a new 5pcies f M18erLtA 33

upper mandible is a large femi-oval and femitranfparent {pace, which, at its back part,is continued upwards in a curved dire&ion acrofs the fore part of the eye. A little way down the upper part of the bill runs a bare flattened part, fornewhat in the manner of the cere in the Fulicm and other birds of that tribe. T h e whole head and neck are black, and covcred with feathers, which, on the head, feem to have been fmall and femi-fetofe on the front, but fornewhat longer and larger on the occiput. Thofe on the neck are ovate. lanceolate and of the ufual firu&ure, or as in the generality of birds, T h e plumage of the breafi, back, thighs, &c. are alfo of the ufual ftru&ure, but much more inclining to a rounded than lanceolatc form. T h e wings were wanting : the ihoulders alone remaining, for about the length of four inches; they were covered with white fea- thers. T h e fcapulars, which were left on each fide, were black, with whitifh bafes : they were about fifteen inches in length. T h e whole remainder of the bird was white. T h e tail was entirely wanting, Beneath the bafe of the bill, on the fkinny or gular part, were Gtu- ated two very €mall pear-thaped, pendant wattles, adherinq by very €mall necks : they were feated a t about tht-ce quarters of an inch from each other, and in the dried fpecimcn were of a iuhfiancc re- fembling ifinglafs. T h e legs are extremely long, and the thighs, to a difiance nearly cqual to that uf the leg itfelf, are quite bare. The whole leg and thigh of a black colour, except that rouiid t h e knee, as well as round each joint of thetoes, is a pale band or zone. T h e whole length of thc leg and thigh is coated with hexagonally- longitudinal kales or divifions.

If this bird be collated with the defcripions of the Mythw'a h i e -

ricana or Common Jabiru, it will clearly appear to be a difiincZ fpecies. It approaches much more nearly to the A$%v-ia AIIJrdir or New Holland Jabiru, but, in tha t bird, there is not the OighteQ

V O L . v. F appearance

34 Dr. SHAW'S DeJcripiion of a new Species of Myaeria,

appearance of the mcmbranaceous or fcmitranfparent part on each fidc of the upper mandible. The colours alfo both of the bill and legs are widely different from thofe of the New Holland Jabiru ; but it agrees with that fpecies in having the head a i d neck covered with feathers. Of the New Holland fpecies a beautiful fpecimen may be feen in the Lcverian Mufeum, which, however, feems not to have quite attained to i ts full fize, fince it falls ihort of the meafurements marked in fome drawings executed in New Holland from the recent bird.

In order to elucidate as much as p&ible this curiousgenus, I k a l l conclpde with givinq L the fpecific chara&ers of all the three birds above mentioned. I t is to be obferved, that in the 5j$?eenza Nature no Epecific charaAer is given of the Mykferin Americana or Common Jabiru ; that being then the only fpecies known to ex& It is now neceffary to form one for that fpecies; viz.

I. MYCTEKIA Americana.

M. alba, capite colloqie nudis nigris, zona colli inferioris rubra, occipite albido, roitro pedibufque nigris.

American Jabiru. White Jabiru, with the head and neck naked and black; a red

zone round thc lower part of the neck ; the occiput whitifh ; the bill and legs black.

2. MYCTERIA A@-al.J. M. alba, capite colloque viridi-nigris ; tearicibus, pennis fcapuIa-

ribus caudaque nigris ; roitro nigro, pedibus rubris.

New Holland rabiru. White Jabiru, with the head and neck green-black ; the coverts,

3. MYCTERIA fcapulars, and tail black ; the bill black, the legs red.

Y e T E R I A ~ e n e ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

54, alba, rofiro apkem verfus rubro, bafin verf's albido raigra, rnacula utrinque fenefirata,

Senegal yabirzt,

White Jabiru, with the bill red towards the tip, whit& towards the bafe, with a black tranfverfe band, and a tran on each fide.

1 have added a reprefentation of the head of this fpecies, half its watural. fize, TAB$ 111,