Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVIII. Bill about twice as long as the head, very slender, roundish, tapering, slightly recurved. Upper mandible with its outline very slightly curved upwards, at the tip declinate; the ridge convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute. Nasal groove nearly half the length of the bill; nostrils linear, direct, sub-basal, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the sides grooved as far as the angle, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow. Head small, ovate, rounded above; neck very long and slender; body rather compact. Legs extremely elongated and slender; tibia bare for more than half its length, covered anteriorly with large curved scutella; tarsus very long, moderately compressed, scutellate before, reticulate on the sides; toes of moderate length, slender; hind toe wanting, outer a little longer than inner, and connected with the middle toe by a web extending nearly to the second joint; the inner toe also connected with the middle by a very short web. Claws small, nearly straight, moderately compressed. Plumage ordinary, the feathers ovate and rounded. Wings very long, of moderate breadth, acute, the first quill longest, the other primaries rapidly graduated. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers. Bill black, iris bright carmine; feet lake-coloured, claws dusky. Forehead, a spot above the eye, another below it, fore part and sides of the neck, and all the other lower parts, pure white. Upper part of head, hind neck, and upper parts, bluish-black, glossed with green; tail white. Length to end of tail 14-1/2 inches, to end of wings 16-1/2, to end of claws 21-3/4; extent of wings 27; wing from flexure 9; tail 2-10/12; bill along the ridge 2-8/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2-11/12; bare part of tibia 3-1/4; tarsus 4-(2-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-1/2, its claw 3/12. Weight 6-1/4 oz. The Female is smaller than the male but otherwise similar. Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 15-1/4, to end of claws 20; extent of wings 25-3/4. Weight 5 oz. The median ridge of the anterior part of the roof of the mouth is furnished with a few short papillæ. The tongue is 1 inch 2 twelfths long, slender, tapering, emarginate and papillate at the base. The œsophagus is 7 inches long, with an average diameter of 4 twelfths; the proventriculus 9 twelfths long, and 6 twelfths in diameter. The stomach is elliptical, 1 inch in length, 8-1/2 twelfths in breadth; its lateral muscles of moderate strength, the right being 4 twelfths thick; the inner coat or epithelium dense, longitudinally rugous, and of a brownish-red colour. The intestine is 20 inches long, its diameter varying from 3 to 1-1/2 twelfths. The cœca are 1-1/2 inch long, 1/12 in diameter at the base, 2 twelfths towards the end, which is blunt.