FAMILY THRESKIORNITHIDJE 



16. Family THRESKIORNITHIDJE 

 The Ibises and Spoonbills 



The ibises are rather long-legged, long- 

 necked birds closely related to the herons, 

 from which they differ in the long, slender 

 bill which is curved gradually downward 

 throughout its whole length, like that of a 

 curlew. They correspond in size to the small 

 and medium sized herons, and resemble them 

 in many of their habits, but fly with both neck 

 and legs extended and by alternately flapping 

 their wings and sailing. The so-called ' ' wood 

 ibis" is a stork and is described under that 

 family. The true ibises are represented in 

 both the Old and New Worlds, chiefly in the 

 warmer portions of them. 



The spoonbills, often made a separate 

 family (Plataleida), are birds of quite similar 

 size and habits, but have the bill long and 

 straight, and broad and flattened at the end, 

 as their name indicates. They do not vary 

 their flight by sailing, as the ibises do. 



i. Guara alba (Linnaeus) 

 White Ibis 



Length, 635 mm. (25.00 in.); tail, 127 mm. 

 (5.00 in.). 



Sexes alike. Plumage all white, the tips of 

 outer wing quills black. Legs, bill and bare 

 skin of head, red. 



Young. Upper back and wings grayish brown, 

 the head and neck streaked with grayish brown. 

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