118 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
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WHITE-FACED IBIS 
Plegadis guarauna 
Head, neck, and upper surface purplish chestnut, with a white band 
round the base of the bill; back with metallic reflections ; wings and 
tail green with bronze reflections ; band across wing-coverts chestnut ; 
length 22, wing 9 inches. 
Tus form of the well-known ‘ Glossy Ibis” of 
Europe is one of our most abundant waterfowl on 
the pampas, and appears in spring in flocks ; but as 
their movements are somewhat irregular and many 
individuals remain with us through the winter, their 
migrations probably do not extend very far. In 
summer they are found beside every marsh and 
watercourse, briskly wading about in the shallow 
water and plunging their long curved beaks down- 
wards at every step. When taking wing they invari- 
ably utter a loud ha ha ha, resembling hearty human 
laughter, but somewhat nasal in sound. They 
frequently leave the marshy places and are seen 
scattered about the grassy plains, feeding like land- 
birds; and on the pampas they often congregate 
about the carcase of a dead horse or cow, to feed 
on the larve of the flesh-fly, in company with the 
Milvago and the Hooded Gull. 
Their flight is singularly graceful; and during 
migration the flocks are seen to follow each other in 
rapid succession, each flock being usually composed 
of from fifty to a hundred individuals, sometimes of 
