CULTRIEOSTRES. 351 



Egyptians only because it announced to them the annual over- 

 flowing of the Nile. This explanation is now generally accepted. 



This bird, whose attachment to Egypt was formerly so great 

 that, according to ^lian, it suffered itself to die of hunger when 

 it left the country, strange to say, now is scarcely ever seen there. 

 The cause of this probably is, that the modern Egyptians, ti-eading 

 under foot the ancient faith of their fathers, kill and eat the Ibis 

 as they would any other fowl, without remembering its former 

 rank of divinity. Being deprived of the ancient protection which 

 rendered Egypt so dear to it, the Ibis has almost deserted the 

 ungrateful land of the Pharaohs. Still it occasionally pays brief 

 visits to the Delta at the time of the rise of the Nile ; but it 

 soon takes flight into the wilds of Abyssinia, forgotten and 

 unregretted. It is also found in Senegal and at the Cape of Good 

 Hope. 



The Green Ibis {I. falcinellus) , called by Herodotus the Black 

 Ibis, has black plumage, variegated with green on the upper part. 

 It inhabits the north of Africa and the south of Euro^Je. Like 

 the first-mentioned bird, it was held sacred by the Egyptians. 



The Scarlet Ibis (/. ruber) is indigenous to America, and is found 

 principally in Guiana, where it associates in flocks at the mouths of 

 the rivers. Its plimiage is of a beautiful vermilion colour, tipjaed 

 with black at the ends of the wings. It does not, however, wear 

 this brilliant plumage till about two years old. The young are 

 very readily tamed, and their flesh is tolerably well-tasted. 



CULTRIROSTRES. 



The Cultrirostres (or knife-shaped bill) have a long, strong, and 

 sharp-edged bill. They are generally provided with stout tarsi, 

 and frequent the edges of marshes and banks of rivers. Many of 

 them enjoy the faculty of being able to stand on one leg for hours 

 together. This singular attitude is rendered possible by means of 

 a curious mechanism, which was discovered by Dumeril. The 

 tibia, in its junction with the femur, presents a protuberant knot, 

 which forcibly stifiens the ligaments of the knee, forming a kind 

 of catch, similar to the spring of a knife. 



