Song Birds and Water Fowl 
gration, must commonly make long and toil- 
some explorations in order to find them. In 
this group, however, are included some of the 
handsomest, both in form and color, of all 
water fowl. 
The ibis is chiefly found in the Southern 
States, the two principal species being the 
glossy and the white ibis, each about two feet 
long. The former is of a rich purplish chest- 
nut color, and its evolutions on the wing, like 
those of the white ibis, are particularly beauti- 
ful. Both species congregate in vast numbers 
in their favorite haunts, the glossy ibis nesting 
on the ground, and the white one in trees. 
Audubon counted forty-seven nests of the latter 
species in a single tree, and his entire account 
of its habits is very entertaining. It goes in 
flocks to the ocean for food, like the night her- 
on, timing its journey, which is sometimes 
more than forty miles, by the tides. Its motion 
through the air is by alternate flappings and 
sailings, and they evince a sense of rhythm in 
the fact that the whole flock imitates the leader 
in the alternation of these motions. 
The ingenuity of many animals rivals the 
power of human reason, and the white ibis 
well illustrates this fact. One of its favorite 
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