94 



Birds of North Carolina 



The semi-inundated prairies of Florida appear to be the great stronghold of the 

 White Ibis in the eastern United States. Here it may often be seen feeding by 

 thousands in small scattered flocks. When alarmed they spring quietly in the air 

 and depart with rajjidly beating wings. In flight their a])pearance is striking, the 

 extended neck and long curved bill readily aiding one to distinguish them from 

 herons. For food they depend mainly on crayfish and other crustaceans. When 

 roosting or engaged in nesting the White Ibis is found in trees, often in some almost 

 inaccessible swamp. After the breeding season, some individuals wander northward 

 along the .\tlantic coast. On July 2G, 1898, Pearson found three immatvuT birds 



Fiu. 60. Whitk Ibis. 



feeding on the marshes of North liivcr near Beaufort. One was secured and is 

 now prcservtHl in the State Museum. A gunner of the region said that the birds 

 were regular sununer residents and were known as "Stone Curlews," Ijut during 

 various trips to this and other parts of the coast no additional specimens have been 

 foimd. 



As it is by no means improbable that the Glos.sy Ibis, Plcgadis aulumiuilU (Linn.), may 

 appear in North Carolina, it may be useful to state tliat it can be di.stinRuished from the 

 White Ibis by the phimaKP of the wings ami tail being liifjhly metaUie in both old and young. 

 Its range is from the Gulf States southward, Init it has lieen known to wander northward oc- 

 casionally ix-s far even !is Nova Scotia. It is now a very rare bird, and so far lus known lireeds 

 in the United States only on an island owned and protected by tlie National Association of 

 Audubon Societies in Alachua County, Florida. 



