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n 



8ACBEI> lBlSi.—nit relinl/m. 



GI/)£e¥ lBVi.—IUt /abrirutttu. 



The Sacked Ibis in one of a rather curioiijs group of bir'Ls. With one exception ther 

 are not jxissessed of brilliant coloxmng, the feathens >>eing mostly white an'J de'jp purplish 

 black. The Scarlet Ibis, however, is a most magiiifi%nt, tliough not veiy large bird, its 

 plui/jage being of a glowing scarlet, relieved by a few pat';hes of bla/;k. 



The Sacrr;/! Ibis is so calWi l^ecaase it figures largely in an evidently sacre^l cliaracter on 

 the hieroglyphs of ancient tgj'pt. It is a migratory bird, arriving in Eg>'pt as soijn as 

 the watf^rs of the XUe V-gin to rise, and remaining in that land until the wat/^rs }ia%'e sub- 

 sided, and therefore deprive! it of its <JaiIy supplies of foo<L The bird proV>ably owes ita 

 sacre'l cliaracter Uj the fact that its api>earance denot/^s the rising of tlie XUe, an anuaal 

 phenomenon on which depen'is the prosperity of the whole c^juntry. 



Sometimes the Ibis stalks in solitary stat« along the l/anks of the river or the many 

 watercourse^ that intersect the low country, but s'jinetim':* ass'xriatfrfj in little fiockB of 

 eight or ten in number. Its food consists mostly of molluscs, both terrestrial and a^iuatic, 

 but it will eat wonns, insects, and probably the smaller reptiles. The Ibis was at one time 

 thought to kill and eat snakes, and this idea was stningthencl by the fact tliat Cuvier 

 detecte^l the .scales and Ixines of snakes within a mummie*! coij/se of an Ibis which waa 

 foiuid in the tombs of EgJ'pt and which is known to be identical with the prfrsent species, 

 liecent si>ec)mens, however, seldom contain anything but mollascs and insects. 



The walk of the Ibis is quiet and delil^erate, though it can get over the ground with 

 considerable s-peed whenever it chooses. Its flight is lofty and strong, and the bird has a 

 habit of uttering a loud and [peculiar cry as it i.»as6e6 through the air. By the natives of 

 Y/j.y\)t it is called the Aljou Hannes, i e. Father John, or Abou 3Ienzel, i. e. Father Sickle 

 Bill, the former name being in Tise in Upj^^r and the other in Lower Fgypt. 

 2. y Y 



