Fam. VIII. CICONIIDAE.–Of the Sub-Order CICONIAE, the first Family is that of the Storks, which have long necks and also long stout beaks, usually straight and fairly cylindrical, but occasionally compressed, as in _Leptoptilus_, upturned towards the tip, as in _Mycteria_, or decurved, as in _Tantalus_; in _Anastomus_ there is a wide gap between the grooved mandibles, the edges of the maxilla possessing fine horny lamellae. Very remarkable, moreover, are the unprotected pervious nostrils, which are mere perforations in the bony sheath. The tibia is partly bare, while the elongated metatarsus is covered with hexagonal scales, becoming more reticulated behind in _Leptoptilus_ and _Mycteria_; the partially webbed front toes and flattened claws are in most cases very short–though lengthened and more slender in _Tantalus_–and rest upon horny pads,[94] the hallux being slightly elevated. The wings are ample and fairly long, with eleven stout primaries in _Ciconia_ and twelve elsewhere, and from fourteen to twenty-five secondaries, the inner of which are often greatly {96}developed. The short tail is normally even or slightly rounded, with twelve broad feathers, but in _Dissura_ it is deeply forked[95] and rigid, while the unusually stiff coverts extending from beneath are easily mistaken for rectrices. In _Leptoptilus_ these elongated coverts are soft, and are the genuine "Marabou feathers." The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue rudimentary, the aftershaft present or absent, and there are no powder-down patches; the trachea in the male of _Tantalus ibis_ has several intrathoracic convolutions,[96] while there is an entire want of syringeal muscles. The adults and young possess uniform down, that of the nestlings being greyish or whitish.