284 



VEllTEBKATA. 



iimviiii; aliotit in quest of slicll-lisli, iiiarino miimals small snails, and fish. Tn pursuit of these it 

 sometimes swims anil dives. This sjx-cies, as well as the others, live in euiiiniunities during the 

 hreediriix season, and often feed l>y twilight. 



Gruun 1 IMS : Ihis. — ( H' tiiis there arc several species. The Glossy Inis, I.falcinellus — /. Ordii 

 of Bonaparte — is two feet long; of a dark green above, and a fine reddish-brown beneath; the 

 whole plumage being silky and glossed with purplish bronze. It frequents the borders of rivers, 

 laki's, i^-e., and feeds on worms and mollusea. It is common in Southern Europe, and parts of 

 Afriea and .\sia. It is supposed to be the Black Ibis of the ancients. This species is occasionally 

 found in tiie I'liitcd States. Some authors, liowever, believe the ibis met with on this Continent 

 to be distinct tiom tlie European one, though closely resembling it. 



'i'lie Sacked I his, /. ?T/?y/oA'a, is twenty-three inches long; plumage white ; the wings tipped 

 with black; found throughout Africa, an<l occurs abundantly in Egypt, where it was regarded 

 with great veneration by the ancient Egyptians, who kept them in their temples, and embalmed 

 them after their death; thousands of their remains are still found in the burial places amid the 

 ruins of ancient Egypt. Various reasons have been given for this custom, some saying that the 

 Ibis destroyed the noxious serpents which were so numerous in that country; others that there 

 was supposed to be some analogy between the plumage of the bird and one of the pliases of the 

 moon ; while a tliird opinion is that the birds were regarded with favor, because, their annual mi- 

 gration into Egypt taking place at the period of the rising of the Nile, they were considered as 

 the harbingers of that event. This bird, often called the ^^'^ITB Ibis — /. alba of De Kay and 

 others — is also found, though rarely, in the Gulf Atlantic States. 



The Scarlet Iius, /. rubra, is twenty-three inches long, of a fine scarlet color, and is found 

 along the shores of tropical America ; is occasionally seen in the southern parts of the United 

 States. It is sometimes domesticated and associates with the poultry. 



The Wood Ibis, Tantalus loculator, is according to ^Yilson, three feet two inches long, of 

 which the bill forms nine inches ; general color white ; quills dark glossy green and purple. Its 

 lia\ints are along the margins of rivers, and amid marshes and meadows ; found from Brazil to the 

 Southern States. 



CICONINJi;, INCLUDING ADJUTANTS, JA- 

 BEIUS, STORKS, &c. 



Genus CICONIA : Ciconia. — This in- 

 cludes the Storks, which are large birds^ 

 chiefly inhabiting the warmer regions of 

 the earth, where they frequent marshy places, 

 feeding upon reptiles, batrachians, fishes, and 

 other small animals, not excluding small 

 quadrupeds and birds. Many of them devour 

 indiscriminately almost any thing that comes 

 in their way, including garbage of all kinds; 

 hence, like the vultures and other carrion- 

 eating animals, they are regarded with great 

 favor by the inhabitants of warm climates. 

 Several species perform long migrations, vis- 

 iting temperate and cold climates during 

 the summer ; but the majority appear to be 

 permanently resident in warm countries. 



The best-known species is the White 

 Stork, C. alba, which is about three feet 

 and a half in length, and is of a white color, 

 with the quills and coverts of the wings 

 black, and the bill and feet red. These birds 

 THE WHITE STORK. ^,-^ ^■^^^ ccutral parts of Europe in the 



spring, and remain there during the summer, departing usually in the month of October for their 



