472 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



turn after turn, there being a slight drifting tc leeward, and a progress 

 upwards, like the frog in the well, a gain of three feet and a loss of two, 

 the result being in each cycle a positive gain ; and at last the bird is out 



of sight. 



Fig. 399. — European spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). 



Of the true ibises none has more celebrity than the sacred ibis of ancient 

 Egypt. There has been considerable confusion as to just what species the 

 sacred ibis was. To-day travelers going up the Nile are shown a large, 

 buff-backed heron, and are told that that is the bird in question. Not so. 

 The true ibis rarely appears north of Khartoom, and some think the old 

 Egyptians imported the bird from the south. However this may be, there 

 is no question as to the reverence shown for it. It was ubiquitous, and a 



