346 



BIRDS. 



The Ibis (Ibis), distinguished by the shape of its long and slender bill, 

 which is thick and square at the base, but gradually tapering towards its ex- 

 tremity, and bent downwards like a bow ; the head, and sometimes the neck, 

 is partially denuded of feathers ; the outer toes are webbed at their base, and 

 the hinder toe sufficiently long to reach the ground. The most celebrated 

 species is the Sacred Ibis of Egypt (Ibis religiosd). By the ancient Egyp- 

 tians this bird was educated in their temples, and embalmed after its death. 

 It seems to have been an object of religious worship on account of its habit of 

 devouring serpents, or, perhaps, because its appearance was generally simul- 

 taneous with the jDverflow of the Nile, to which that country owes so much of 

 its fertility. 



The Scarlet Ibis, met with in the tropical regions of America, is a beautiful 

 bird : its body is of a brilliant scarlet, with the wing-feathers of a deep black. It may 

 be seen in flocks in marshy places near the mouths of rivers, and is easily tamed. 



FIG. 382. COMMON CURLEW. 



The Curlews (Numenius) are provided with beaks arched like that of the 

 ibis, tapering, slender, and round throughout its entire length ; the end of the 

 upper mandible projects beyond the lower, and the toes are webbed near their 

 bases. The Common Curlew of our coasts has been named from its peculiar 

 cry ; its flesh is sometimes eaten, but it makes a very indifferent apology for 

 game. 



The family of Snipes (Scolopacida) have the bill straight, and the nostrils 

 prolonged by grooves until very near the tip, which is slightly enlarged and 

 projects a little beyond the lower mandible. The extremity of the bill in 



