IBISES AND SPOONBILLS 



2083 



and tail steel blue, the quills dusky black, and the under parts blackish brown. An 

 exceedingly-common bird in India, where it is generally known as the curlew, this 

 ibis is usually found in the open country away from water, where it feeds largely 

 on insects. It builds in high trees, laying from two to four eggs. 



The glossy ibis (Falcinellus igneus), which is an occasional visitant to the 

 British Islands, represents a third genus, differing from the last by the still greater 

 length of the beak, by the elongated metatarsus being covered in front with large 

 scales instead of hexagonal scales, and the longer toes. In the wings the second 

 and third quills are the longest, and the face alone is naked. This ibis is a dark 



WHITE SPOONBII,!,. 

 (One-fifth natural size.) 



colored bird, the prevailing tints of the plumage being various shades of reddish 

 brown, with purplish reflections; and is remarkable for its wide distribution, rang- 

 ing over the greater part of Europe and Asia, and also occurring in North America, 

 and rarely in the north of Africa, as well as in Australia. The genus also contains 

 other species, and has an almost cosmopolitan distribution. In Eastern Europe and 

 India, this bird is found breeding in colonies comprising thousands of individuals; 

 the nests being generally placed in low bushes. 



