88 WATER BIRDS 
ern or the eared grebe, and is less noisy, its call being 
only a plaintive note quite in contrast to the hoarse croak- 
ing cries of the larger species. It is also less gregarious ; 
a pair may sometimes be found nesting in a marsh unfre- 
quented by any other of their species. 
187. WHITE-FACED GLOSSY IBIS.— Plegadis guarauna. 
Famity: The Ibises. 
Length: 22.50. 
Adults: Head, neck, and lower parts reddish brown; feathers around 
base of bill white; lores pink; upper parts iridescent green and 
purple. 
Young: Upper parts as in adults, except head and neck streaked with 
white and dark ashy gray; under parts plain gray-brown. 
Downy Young: Entirely black. 
Geographical Distribution; Tropical America, south to Argentine Re- 
public and Chili; north from Texas and Lower California to Oregon. 
Breeding Range: Texas and the Gulf States, and, to a limited degree, in 
the Ballona marshes, as well as various San Diegan points. 
Breeding Season: April, May, and June. 
Nest: Of reeds woven in among the rushes; shaped similar to the red- 
winged blackbird’s nest, but much larger. 
Eggs: 3 to 53; deep bluish green. Size 1.95 X 1.35. 
In the wet meadows and marshes of California there 
are frequently seen queer black birds which might be 
taken for large crows but for their long legs and long, 
curved, curlew-like bills. They wade about probing in 
the mud for crayfish or snails, or stand motionless on 
one leg in heronesque attitudes, watching for minnows 
in the shallow water. In habits they seem to resemble 
the bitterns, nesting in the rushes and feeding upon 
frogs, fresh-water crustaceans, or small snakes, trusting 
to protective coloring for safety except when forced to 
