The Marabou inhabits India; they feed on Reptiles and all kinds of filth, and this fact has been the means of securing for them the goodwill of the people. In the large cities of Hindostan they are as tame as Dogs, and clear the streets of every kind of garbage which litters them. At meal times they never fail drawing themselves up in line in front of the barracks, to eat the refuse thrown to them by the soldiers; their gluttony is so great that they will swallow enormous bones. At Calcutta they are protected by law, which inflicts a fine on any one killing them. The long white feathers, celebrated for their delicacy and airiness, which are known in commerce by the name of Marabou feathers, come from this Bird and the African Marabou. Consequently, in spite of their ugliness, a good many are reared in a domestic state. There are several other species which are allied to the Storks, and are only distinguished from them by a slightly different form of the bill. [Illustration: JABIRU.] The best known among these are the Jabiru, which is a native of Australia; the curious Broad-billed Stork of Africa, as illustrated (with the White Storks and the Demoiselle Crane on the tree); the Bec-ouvert, which inhabits India and Africa; the Drome, which is met with on the shores of the Black Sea and Senegal; and the Tantalus, which lives in the warm regions of both the Old and New World. THE SPOONBILL. The Spoonbill is remarkable for the singular form of its bill, which is about four times the length of the head, straight and flexible. The upper part, which is about an inch and a quarter broad at the base, gradually narrows to three-quarters of an inch, and again increases to two inches at the point, causing a resemblance to a spoon, from which it takes its name. It uses this bill for dipping into the mud and water, whence it extracts worms and small Fish, on which it principally feeds. It also eats water insects, which it catches by placing its bill, half open, on the surface of the water, permitting them to float on to the lower part of the bill, when it quickly closes the bill and makes them captive. THE WADING BIRDS WITH COMPRESSED BILLS. [Illustration: SPOONBILL.] The Birds which belong to this family differ greatly in the length of their legs—which seems to be the main characteristic of the Waders. In fact, some of these Birds seem to form a sort of connecting link between the Waders and the Domestic Fowls, in the form of the bill as well as in the length of the leg. Among them are the Golden-breasted Trumpeter, the Cariama, the Oyster-catcher, the Plovers, the Lapwing, the Coursers, the Dotterel, and the Bustard. THE FRIGATE BIRD AND FLAMINGOES.