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The Adjutant is a large kind of Stork,
so called by the English in India and elsewhere "from its comical resemblance
to a human figure in a stiff dress pacing slowly on a parade-ground" (Yule
& Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, sub voce). Also known as the
Gigantic Crane, it belongs to the genus
Leptoptilus, of which the
members are distinguished by their sad-coloured plumage, their black, scabrous
head, and their enormous tawny pouch, which drops, occasionally some 16
inches or more in length, from the lower part of the neck, and is not connected,
as was once commonly believed, with the digestive system (see Air-Sacs).
In many parts of India Leptoptilus dubius,
or Leptoptilus argala of some authors, the largest of these
birds, the Hargila as Hindus call it, is a most efficient scavenger,
sailing aloft at a vast height and descending on the discovery of offal,
although frogs and fishes also form part of its diet. It has also been
reported to forage for water-snakes using its long bill. This bird
familiarly enters the large towns, in many of which on account of its services
it is strictly protected from injury, and, having satisfied its appetite,
seeks the repose it has earned, sitting with its feet extended in front
in a most grotesque attitude.
A second and smaller species, Leptoptilus
javanicus, the Lesser Adjudant has a more
southern and eastern range; while a third, Leptoptilus Crumenifer, of
African origin, and often known as the Marabou-Stork, gives its
name to the beautifully soft feathers so called. Related to the Adjutant
storks are the birds known as Jabirus.
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