EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 29 



186. GossY Ibis, Plegadis autumnalis. Eggs, 2 or 3, oval 

 or elliptical, deep greenish blue, unspotted ; 1.37 -(- 1.85 to 1.50 

 -\- 2.15. Extralimital ; breeds in the northern portions of the 

 Old World. Casual in the West Indies and Eastern North 

 America. 



187. White-faced Glossy Ibis, P/e^af^ts ;7«ara?ma. Eggs, 

 indistinguishable from those of No. 186. Breeds in Western 

 United States, Texas, Florida (where it is rare), West Indies, 

 Cuba, Central and South America, in April, or earlier in the 

 more southern districts. 



Family XVIII. — CICONIIDtE. Storks and Wood Ibises. 



Birds of this family place their nests of sticks in trees. The 

 eggs are either plain or spotted. 



188. Wood Ibis, Tantalus loculator. Eggs, 1 or 2, ellipti- 

 cal, chalky white, often sparingly spotted with pale reddish 

 brown ; 1.70 -|- 2.70 to 1.75 -f- 2.75. Breeds in Southern United 

 States, from the Ohio Valley, Colorado, Utah, and California, 

 southward, to Buenos Ayres; in Southern United States, in 

 May. 



189. Jabirtj, Mycteria americana. Eggs, 2, rounded oval, 

 uniform olive-green, unspotted ; 2.20 -\- 3.33 to 2.25 -|- 3.35. 

 Extralimital ; tropical America, the birds occurring casually in 

 Texas. 



Family XIX. — ARDEIDiE. Herons, Bitterns, etc. 



Birds of this family usually construct a rude nest of sticks, 

 which is almost always placed in trees or bushes, but occasion- 

 ally on the ground. Eggs, always unspotted. 



190. American Bittern, £otaitrus lentiginosus. (Type, 

 Plate VI.) Eggs, 3 to 6, elliptical, varying from greenish ash 

 to brown; 1.65 -j- 2.10 to 1.80 -|- 2.25. Breeds throughout 

 temperate North America, early in June. Nests, composed of 

 weeds, grasses, etc., and placed on the ground, in marshes. The 

 eggs may be recognized by the peculiar brown color. 



