FAM. XL VI. STORKS AND WOOD IBISES 



271 



FAMILY XLVI. STORKS AND WOOD IBISES (CICONIID^) 



A family (25 species) of mainly Old World, stout-billed, 

 heron-like birds with a large portion of the head naked or free 

 from feathers and with the bill neither curved for its whole 

 length nor decidedly widened at tip. Our species have the 

 bill extremely stout at base, it being practically as high as 

 the head. 



Key to the Species 



* End of bill downwardly curved ■ 



* End of bill upwardly curved 2. . 



1. Wood Ibis. 



'2. Jabiru. 



-^ 



1. Wood Ibis (188. Tdntalus loculMor). — An exceedingly 

 large, white, ibis-like bird with the head and neck bare of 

 feathers and the very 

 long, stout bill straight 

 for half its length, and 

 curved downAvards. The 

 wing quills and the tail 

 are glossy greenish- 

 black. The young are 

 more grayish in color, 

 have the breast more or 

 less feathered, and the 

 head and neck a decided 

 grayish-brown. 



Length, 35-45 ; wing, ]8| 

 (17|-19^) ; tarsus, 8 ; cul- 

 men, 7-9. Southern United 

 States ; breeding in the Gulf 

 States ; after the breeding 

 season it sometimes wanders 

 northward to Kansas and 

 New York. South to central 

 South America. Wood Ibis 



