70 
WILD WINGS 
action, as the nest was shaded, and required an exposure of 
at least a second, even with wide-open lens. It was quite 
a while before I secured the coveted opportunity, and could 
proceed to photograph another brood of young Anhingas 
just beyond. 
A few steps brought us to the west side of the island, where 
the White Ibises were nesting by hundreds in an area of 
rather low mangroves growing out of the water. Every 
movement on our part caused an uproar of croaking notes 
and beating of wings. Especially ominous to them was the 
snapping of a twig, possibly suggesting the report of the 
small ride of the plume-hunters, though it may have been 
merely the nervous effect of any sharp sound. The ibis is 
a beautiful bird, with its snow-white plumage, contrasting 
with the black tips of the wings and the dark carmine red of 
the long bill and legs. With hundreds of them starting all 
about me, and j^assing and repassing overhead, the effect was 
something beyond all words to describe. 
Eortunately the ibis, though timid, is not verv warv. The 
trees were so thick that it was very difficult to find a place 
open enough to see the birds at rest. But I found that by 
keeping quiet, sheltering myself somewhat in the under¬ 
growth, the ibises would light fairly near me. So I erected 
my smaller camera upon the trij^od, with the telephoto attach¬ 
ment, and secured some pictures of single ibises amid the 
thick of the mangroves. 
A little farther along, on the south side of the island, was 
the onh" real opening in the trees. Here, fortunatelv for 
me, was a dead tree, upon which several ibises at a time 
would alight. A Louisiana Heron stayed perched on a leafy 
branch just above, and here I was soon able to take quite 
a series of telephoto pictures of ibises and the heron. Shortlv 
before starting on the trip, I had purchased an excellent firm 
