STORKS 219 



underparts dull fuscous-brown; back with greenish reflections. L., 24'00; 

 W., 11-50; Tar., 3*10; B., 5'00. 



Range. Tropical arid subtropical regions, mainly of E. Hemisphere. 

 Rare and local in se. U. S. from La. to Fla., and in the West Indies; casual 

 n. to Mo., Wise., Mich., Ont., and N. S. 



Washington, two records. Long Island, two records. Cambridge, one 

 record, May. 



Nest, of rushes, plant stems, etc., in reedy swamps or low bushes. Eggs, 

 3, rather deep, dull blue, 2'01 x 1*47. Date, Orange Lake, Fla., Apl. 



Of this once doubtless widely distributed species comparatively 

 few individuals remain, and in the New World it is of rare and irregu- 

 lar occurrence. 



The WHITE-FACED GLOSSY IBIS (187. Plegadis guarauna), a locally com- 

 mon species from Texas westward and southward, has been recorded but once 

 from east of the Mississippi, viz., at or near Lake Washington, Florida 1 , where 

 a female was shot on a nest containing three eggs (Brewster, Auk, III, 1886, 

 482). This species resembles the Glossy Ibis, but adults have the region 

 about the base of the bill white. 



19. FAMILY CICONIHXE. STORKS 



The nineteen known species of this family are distributed through- 

 out the world, but only three are found in the Western Hemisphere, 

 and of these but one occurs north of Mexico. The Common Stork 

 (Ciconia dconia) of Europe, the Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius) of 

 India, and Marabou (L. crumeniferus) of Africa are the best known 

 of the Old World species. The Marabou feathers of commerce are from 

 the last-named species. 



While terrestrial in feeding habit, Storks usually nest some distance 

 above the ground. They perch readily in trees and in this respect differ 

 from Cranes, with which, however, they agree in flying with the neck 

 fully extended. The young are hatched with but a scanty covering 

 of down and are reared in the nest, Storks, in this respect, resembling 

 Herons rather than Cranes. They are essentially voiceless. 



188. Mycteria americana Linn. WOOD IBIS. Ads. Head and neck 

 bare; primaries, secondaries and tail glossy greenish black, rest of plumage 

 white. Jra. Head more or less feathered; head and neck grayish brown, 

 blacker on the nape; rest of plumage as in the adult, but more or less marked 

 with grayish; wings and tail less greenish. L., 40'00; W., IS'OO; Tar., 7'60; 

 B. from N., 8'00. 



Range. Temperate and tropical Am. from s. Calif., Ariz., Tex., Ohio 

 Valley, and S. C., s. to Argentina; casual n. to Mont., Wise., N. Y. and Vt. 



Washington, casual in July. Long Island, one record. 



Nesc, in colonies, a platform of sticks in trees. Eggs, 2-3, dull white with 

 a soft calcareous deposit, 2*75 x 1'75. Date, Brevard Co., Fla., Mch. 14. 



This is a locally common species in Florida. 



20. FAMILY ARDEID^E. HERONS AND BITTERNS. (Fig. 36.) 



This family contains about one hundred species distributed in most 

 parts of the globe, but more numerously in the intertropical regions. 



