the Ant'icnt Egyptians. 67 



All travellers who preceded or followed Bruce, feern to 

 have been in an error. Belon* gave the name of black Ibis 

 to a bird, which is nothing elfe than a black curlew with a 

 naked head, and. the feet and bill red ; which does not agree 

 with the defcription of Herodotus, who fays that the black 

 ibis is black all over. 



This bird of Belon is very common in collections; and yet 

 as naturalifts fought alfo in the black ibis a tantalus with a 

 (harp bill, the modern naturalifts have almoft all faid that 

 Belon alone had feen this bird. Lacepede has rectified this 

 error, and given the name of black ibis to the bird which 

 had been diftinguiftied by that name by Belon. In regard 

 to the white ibis, Belon believed it was the ftork ; in which 

 it is evident he contradicted every teftimony : no one, there- 

 fore, has coincided in opinion with him in this point except 

 the apothecaries, who have taken the ftork for their emblem, 

 becaufe they have confounded it with the ibis, to which they 

 alcribe the invention of injections. 



Profper Alpinus, who afcribes this invention to the ibis, 

 gives no defcription of the bird in his work on the Medical 

 Art of the Egyptians f. In his Natural Hiftory of Egypt J 

 he fpeaks only from the information of Herodotus, to whofe 

 account he only adds, I know not from what authority, that 

 this bird in its figure and fize refembles the ftork. He fays 

 he had learned that both the black and the white kinds were 

 found in abundance on the banks of the Nile; but it is evi- 

 dent that he did not believe that he had ever feen any of them. 

 Shaw, fpeaking of the ibis, fays§ that at prefent it is ex- 

 ceedingly rare, and that he had never feen it. His emfeeflfy, 

 or ox-bird, which Gmelin, very improperly, refers to the 

 tantalus ibis, is of the fize of the curlew, has a white body, 

 and the feet and bill red. It frequents the meadows near 

 cattle; its flefh is not well tafted, and foon fpoils. It may 

 be ealily feen that this is not the tantalus, and ftill lefs the 

 ibis, of the antients. 



De la Nature <!es Oifeaux, Rook IV. chap. 9, of the edition of 155^. 

 i Dc Median. 1 iEgypriorum, Lib. I. fol. 1. Paris, 1646. 

 ; Rerun Egypt. Lib. IV. cap. 1. Lcydcn, 1735. 

 '" Page 2 5 5, Emfecfiy ox-bird 



K.a Haflblquift 



