72 STORKS AND WOOD IBISES 



look as black as ravens, but their flight is crane-like, and walking or 

 wading they have the dignified pose of the cranes and herons. No 

 doubt the name black curlew comes from their curved bill, but they 

 are neither cranes nor curlews. According to Goss, they feed on 

 craw^fish, snails, minnows, frogs, and insects. Vernon Bailey. 



FAMILY CICONIIDiE : STORKS AND WOOD IBISES. 



^ KEY TO GENERA. 



1. Bill curved downward and blunt at tip . . . . Tantalus, p. 72. 

 1'. Bill inclined uj^ward and sharp at tip Mycteria, p. 72. 



GENUS TANTALUS. 



188. Tantalus ioculator Linn. Wood Ibis. 



Adults. — Head and upper neck naked and, except for a smooth square 

 patch on crow n, scurfy. Plumage mainly white ; wing- quills and tail 

 greenish and purplish black ; under wing coverts pinkish in breeding* 

 plumage. Young : whole head and neck except face covered with green- 

 ish brown feathers, darker on back of head ; rest of plumage dull whitish. 

 Length ; 35-45, wing 17.G0-19.50, bill 6.10-7.30. 



Distribution. — Southern United States from Ohio, Colorado, Utah, and 

 southeastern California south to Argentina ; casually north to Wisconsin 

 and New York. 



Nest. — In trees, a loosely arranged platform of sticks, lined with moss 

 or other soft material. Eggs : usually o, dull white. 



Goss says the white ibis is a common resident of all the Gulf 

 states, and is found on the Colorado and Gila rivers in the vicinitj^ of 

 Yuma. During the breeding season the ibises assemble in large 

 flocks, but they scatter more or less afterwards, when it is not un- 

 common to find a solitary bird on the feeding ground or perched on 

 top of a tall tree. Their food consists of fish, crabs, frogs, and 

 young alligators, together with the small forms of life that inhabit 

 shallow lagoons, stagnant streams, and pools on overflowed land. 



[189.] Mycteria americana Linn. Jabiru. 



Size of a large crane ; legs long, bill enormous and inclined upwards at 

 tip. Adults : head and neck naked except for-^ hair-like crest on occiput ; 

 bill, head, and legs black ; skin of lower neck red in life ; plumage 

 white. Young : Plumage mainly brownish gray. Length : about 4i feet; 

 wing 24..50-27.00, bill 9.75-13.00, tarsus 11.2-5-12.50. 



Distribution. — Tropical America ; north casually to southern Texas. 



FAMILY ARDEIDiE: HERONS, EGRETS, BITTERNS. 



KEY TO GENERA. 



1. Tail feathers 10, short and very soft. 



2. Plumage mainly striped Botaurus, p. 73. 



2'. Plumage not mainly striped, back black or brown . Ardetta, p. 74. 

 r. Tail feathers 12, normal. 



