XVII 



White Ibis; Spanish Curlew 

 184. Guar a alba 



With exception of the longest wing feathers, which 

 are glossy black, the plumage of the White Ibis is a pure 

 white. Its legs, feet, bill and bare face are orange red. 

 The bill is sickle-shaped and is about six inches long; 

 hence the resemblance to the Curlew and the popular 

 name. The sexes are alike in color and the length of the 

 bird is twenty-four inches ; it is a permanent resident of 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf states, rarely visiting the 

 Central United States, and breeds in communities along 

 with other shore birds. The nest, placed a few feet from 

 the ground, is composed of coarse twigs. The White Ibis 

 lays from three to five chalky-white eggs, splotched with 

 brown. (Fig. 23.) The feet of the birds are not webbed ; 

 hence they are poor swimmers, feeding on frogs, cray- 

 fish and other kinds of fish that are easily accessible. 



These birds prefer to ''rook" by themseles, but when 

 their nests are disturbed will colonize with Herons, An- 

 hingas and other birds of like species. 



On one island in Florida I saw three thousand White 

 Ibis' nests, and every nest had been robbed by the Fish 

 Crows. The poor birds had finally abandoned the nesting 

 place and sought new quarters with the Herons on 

 another island a mile away. The villains — the Fish 

 Crows — had followed and were flying over the rookery, 

 looking for more nests to plunder. I repeatedly wit- 

 nessed the act of robbing a nest. The black burglar 

 would light nearby and sit there with its complaining 

 "caw, caw!" waiting for the incubating or the laying 

 bird to leave the nest ; the instant this occurred the Crow 

 would hop or light on the edge of the nest and proceed 

 to peck holes in the eggs and suck them dry, or, as was 

 the case in some instances, deliberately throw two or 

 three eggs out of the nest on the ground, and fly away 



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