THE SACRED IBIS. 



559 



well suited for tearing to pieces the substances on which the bird feeds. Its color is brown, 

 mottled profusely with a deep mahogany tinge. The general color of the plumage is dark 

 slaty-gray above, each feather being edged with a narrow band of grayish-white. The feathers 

 of the front of the neck are pointed, very dark in the centre, and broadly edged with gray. 

 The under surface is gray. 



IBIS. 



THE SACKED IBIS is one of a rather curious group of birds. With one exception they are 

 not possessed of brilliant coloring, the feathers being mostly white and deep purplish-black. 

 The Scarlet Ibis, however, is a most magnificent, though not very large bird, its plumage being 

 of a glowing scarlet, relieved by a few patches of black. 



The Sacred Ibis is so called because it figures largely in an evidently sacred character on 

 the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. It is a migratory bird, arriving in Egypt as soon as the 





SACKED IBI3.-/M* athioplca. 



waters of the Mle begin to rise, and remaining in that land until the waters have subsided, 

 and therefore deprived it of its daily supplies of food. The bird probably owes its sacred 

 character to the fact that its appearance denotes the rising of the Nile, an annual phenomenon 

 on which depends the prosperity of the whole country. 



Sometimes the Ibis stalks in solitary state along the banks of the river, or the many water- 

 courses that intersect the low country, but sometimes associates in little flocks of eight or ten 

 in number. Its food consists mostly of mollusks, both terrestrial and aquatic, but it will eat 

 worms, insects, and probably the smaller reptiles. The Ibis was at one time thought to kill 

 and eat snakes, and this idea was strengthened by the fact that Cuvier detected the scales and 

 bones of snakes within a mummied corpse of an Ibis which was found in the tombs of Egypt, 

 and which is known to be identical with the present species. Recent specimens, however, 

 seldom contain anything but mollusks and insects. 



The .walk of the Ibis is quiet and deliberate, though it can get over the ground with con- 

 siderable speed whenever it chooses. Its flight is lofty and strong, and the bird has a habit 



