494 THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 



nnd which must, therefore, be sought- for among such as possessed these cliaractors ; for 

 liow coidd a hird with a weak bill, like a cui'lew, devour these dangerous reptiles ? That 

 the ibis religiosa ate nothing but serpents, is not pretended ; but that it did eat them, is 

 also proved ; and it is well observed by Cuvier, " that positive proofs, such as descriptions, 

 lio-ures, and mummies, ought to preponderate always over accounts of habits too often 

 imao-ined without any other motive than to justify the ditfereut worships rendered to 

 animals. It might," says he, " be added, that the serpents from which the ibis delivered 

 I'jgvpt are lopresented to us as very venomous, but not as very large. I have even 

 obtained direct proof that the birds preserved as mummies, and which have had a beak 

 precisely similar to that of our bird, were true serpent-eaters ; for I found in one of 

 their mummies the still undigested remains of the skin and scales of serpents, which I 

 deposited in our anatomical galleries." 



Cuvier thus describes this bird : " It is as large as a hon, with white plumage, except 

 the end of the wing- feathers, which is black ; the last coverts have their barbs elongated, 

 loose, black, with violet reflexions, and thus co\'ering the wings and tail. Tlie bill and 

 the feet are black, as well as all the naked part of the head and neck ; this part is 

 covered in youth, at least on its upper surface, with small blackish feathers. The species 

 is found throughout the extent of Africa." 



Mr. Swainson states, that the ibises ai'e large and very singular birds, living almost 

 entirely on the swampy banks of rivers and fresh waters, rarely, if ever, frequenting open 

 shores, like the more typical waders. He observes, that thcii' structure aiul habits seem 

 compounded of those belonging to the herons on one side, and to the rails on the (jther ; 

 their flio'ht and size, he .says, remind us of the former, while their long toes and 

 insectivorous nature are more in accordance with the latter. 



THE SC.\1!LET IMS.* 



America, as well as AiVica, has ibises ; and the one just mentioned we now proceed to 

 describe. It is twenty-three inches in length, and thirty-seven in alar extent. The bill 

 is five inches long, thick, and of a somewhat square form at the base, gradually bent 

 downwards, and sharply ridged; black except near the base, where it inclines to red. 

 The iris is dark hazel. The foce is nakecl, .slightly wrinkled, and pale red. The chin is 

 bare and wrinkled also. The plumage is rich, glowing scarlet, except about three inches 

 of the extremities of the four outer qnill-feathcrs, whicji are deep .sleel-blue. The legs 

 are pale- red. The three anterior toes are united by a membrane as far as the first joint. 



Ac('ording to Nuttall, this brilliant and exchisively American species inhabits chiefly 

 within the ti'opics, abounding in the West India and Haluuna islands, and south of the 

 equator, at h'ast as iai' as Brazil. They migrate about July and August into Florida, 

 Alabama, f icorgia, and South Carolina ; but rcthv into Mexico or the Caribbean islands 

 at the approach of cool weather. 



They generally assemble in numbers, frequenting the borders of the sea, and the banks 

 and estuaries of neighbouring rivers, feeding on small fry, shcU-flsh, crustacca, worms, 

 and insects, wlii(;h they collect at the iibbing of the tide. They are said to be in the 

 habit of perching on trees in companies; but they lay their eggs, which are grccnisli, on 

 the "round, amidst the tall grass of the marshes, on a slight nest of leaves. 



The young, when ju.st hatched, are black, soon changing to gray, but they arc nearly 

 white before they are able to fly; by degrees (hey attain their red plumage, wliich is 

 not complete until the third year. The young and old associate in distinct l)au<is. In 

 the countries where they abound they are sometimes dojncsticatcd, and accoinpany the 



* Ibis lulira. — Vioill. 



