SPOONBILLS, IBISES, STORKS 



175 



There is no large wading bird of North 

 America that bears such brilliant feathers as the 

 Roseate Siwonbill. The general jiluiiiage is pink 

 with the lesser wing-coverts of the adult a bright 

 carmine color. This part of the ]ilumage i - 

 known as the " drip." The bill is long and flatly 

 spoon-shaped. The bird gets its food by wading, 

 swinging its opened bill from side to side 

 through the nuui and water, as it advances. For- 

 merly the Spoonbills, or " Pink Curlews." as the 

 Florida hunters know them, were extensively 

 shot and their feathers shipped to Jacksonville 

 where they were made into fans to sell to winter 

 tourists. Today the Ijirds are exlreniely rare, 

 thanks to the energy of the plume-hunter and the 

 bird-shooting touri.st. But for the wardens em- 

 ploved bv the National Association of .\udubon 

 Societies they would probably now be extinct in 

 Florida. A few are sometimes seen in Louisiana 

 and possibly a thousand are left in Florida, but 

 unless public sentiment in that State should re- 

 ceive a radical and sudden shift toward conser- 

 vation, the bird will probably not long survive. 



Spoonbills travel in flocks, sometimes in com- 

 pany with Ibises. They fly in long diagonal lines, 

 each bird being behind and just to one side of the 

 one in front. When seen among the dark green 

 foliage of the mangrove trees, or while in flight, 

 their wings reflect the sunlight and they show to 

 advantage and make an xmusual ap])eal to the 

 bird-student. For the most jiart they are silent, 

 although when feeding or when about their nests 

 a low croaking note is constantly uttered, as 

 though the birds were conversing among them- 

 selves. 



Dr. Frank M. Chapman, speaking of the 

 actions of the young in a nesting colony he 

 visited in Mexico, says: 



'■ \Mien their parents returned they were all 

 attention and on the alert for food. On such 

 occasions they ustially stood in a row on the edge 

 of the nest facing the old birds, and in a most 



comical manner swung the head and neck up and 

 down. I have seen balanced mechanical toys 

 which would make almost exactly the same mo- 

 tion. The toys, however, were silent, while the 

 little Spoonbills all joined in a chorus of tremu- 

 lous, trilling whistles, which grew louder and 

 more rapid as the parent a]iproached. 



Drawing by Henry Thurstun 



ROSEATE SPOONBILL (.; nat. size) 

 One of the rarest and most brilliant waders of the South 



" \Miat their parent brought them 1 could not 

 see, nor for that matter, could they. But with a 

 confidence born of experience, the bird that had 

 first opportunity pushed its bill and head far 

 down into its parent's mouth to get whatever was 

 there. This singular operation sometimes lasted 

 as long as ten seconds, and it was terminated 

 only by the parent which, much against the will 

 of its offspring, disengaged itself ; then after a 

 short rest a second yoimgster was fed and thus in 

 due time the whole family was satisfied." 



T. Gilbert Pe.\rson. 



WHITE IBIS 

 Guara alba ( Liiiiurus) 



.\. O L". .XuinLer 184 



Stone Curlew 



Other Names. — Spanish Curlew 

 (ynnnR) : ^\'llite Curlew. 



Length. — 26 inches. 



Color. — .Adults: Pluiuaijc. p\irc n'hilc ; tips of 

 several outer primaries, (/lossy blaek ; l)are face. bill. 

 \'oi.. I — 13 



and legs, orange, red. or carmine, the bill tipped with 

 dusky; iris, pale bluish-white. Young: Dull grayish- 

 brown; rump, base of tail, aiid under parts, white; bare 

 space on head, restricted and dull yellowish ; bill, 

 yellowish-orange; legs, bluish-gray; iris, brown. 



