72 STORKS AND WOOD IBISES 



look as black as ravens, but their flight is crane-like, and walking or 

 wading they have the dignified pose of the cranes and herons. No 

 doubt the name black curlew comes from their curved bill, but they 

 are neither cranes nor curlews. According to Goss, they feed on 

 crawfish, snails, minnows, frogs, and insects. VERNON BAILEY. 



FAMILY CICONIID-SI : STORKS AND WOOD IBISES. 



KEY TO GENERA. 



1. Bill curved downward and blunt at tip Tantalus, p. 72. 



1'. Bill inclined upward and sharp at tip Mycteria, p. 72. 



GENUS TANTALUS. 



188. Tantalus loculator Linn. WOOD IBIS. 



Adults. Head and upper neck naked and, except for a smooth square 

 patch on crown, scurfy. Plumage mainly white ; wing quills and tail 

 greenish and purplish black ; under wing coverts pinkish in breeding 

 plumage. Young : whole head and neck except face covered with green- 

 ish brown feathers, darker on back of head ; rest of plumage dull whitish. 

 Length : 35-45, wing 17.60-19.50, bill 6.10-7.30. 



Distribution. Southern United States from Ohio, Colorado, Utah, and 

 southwestern California south to Argentina; casually north to Wisconsin 

 and New York. 



Nest. In trees, a loosely arranged platform of sticks, lined with moss 

 or other soft material. Eggs : usually 3, dull white. 



Goss says the wood ibis is a common resident of all the Gulf 

 states, and is found on the Colorado and Gila rivers in the vicinity of 

 Yuma. During the breeding season the ibises assemble in large 

 flocks, but they scatter more or less afterwards. Their food consists 

 of fish, crabs, frogs, young alligators, and the small forms of life 

 that inhabit shallow lagoons and pools on overflowed land. 



GENUS MYCTERIA. 



[189.] Mycteria americana Linn. JABIRU. 



Size of a large crane ; legs long, bill enormous and inclined upwards at 

 tip. Adults : head and neck naked except for a hair-like crest on occiput ; 

 bill, head, and legs black ; skin of lower neck red in life ; plumage 

 white. Young : Plumage mainly brownish gray. Length : about 4 feet ; 

 wing 24.50-27.00, bill 9.75-13.00, tarsus 11.25-12.50. 



Distribution. Tropical America ; north casually to southern Texas. 



FAMILY ARDEID.S:: HERONS, EGRETS, BITTERNS. 



KEY TO GENERA. 



1. Tail feathers 10, short and very soft. 



2. Plumage mainly striped Botaurus, p. 73. 



2'. Plumage not mainly striped, back black or brown . Ardetta, p, 74. 

 1'. Tail feathers 12, normal. 



