IBIS 585 



plumes on the upper breast, and the elongated inner secondaries are grey, 

 and not black ; head and neck bluish black ; bill black ; legs glossy black ; 

 iris reddish brown ; skin of wing blood-red. Calmen 6'4, wing M'4, 

 tail 50, tarsus 4*2 inch. Female similar. In winter the elongated pectoral 

 plumes and those on the upper parts are wanting. The young bird has 

 the head and neck feathered forward to the eyes, the head, except beneath, 

 blackish grey, passing into white on the hind-neck. 



Hob. India, Ceylon, Burma, China, Manchuria, Japan, 

 (Yokohama, Tokio). 



Like its allies it frequents marshy places, rivers, lakes, 

 and large ponds, usually in flocks, feeding on mollusca, 

 Crustacea, aquatic insects, worms, etc. In Northern India the 

 breeding season is from June to August, and in Ceylon from 

 November to February, and it breeds in trees, sometimes 

 singly and at others several pairs together, constructing a nest 

 of sticks and twigs lined with finer twigs, and depositing 2 to 4 

 eggs, white, occasionally delicately spotted with pale yellowish 

 brown, varying a good deal in size but averaging 2 '5 4 by 1'7. 



816. JAPANESE IBIS. 

 IBIS NIPPON. 



Ibis nippon, Temrn. PI. Col. v. pi. 551 (1835) ; David and Oust. Ois. 

 Chine, p. 453, pi. 116 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 232 ; (Sharpe), 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxvi. p. 15 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 967 ; /. nippon, 

 var. sinensis, David and Ou^t. Ois. Chine, p. 454, pi. 117. 



Told, Dau, Jap. 



ad. (Japan). General colour of plumage white, the wings, tail, and 

 axillaries tinged with almond pink ; feathers on the nape and hind-neck 

 elongated, forming a crest ; lores, forehead, and chin orange- vermilion ; 

 eyelid golden yellow ; iris orange ; bill black, mottled with red at the tip ; 

 nail yellow j legs, feet, and naked part of tibia light red. Culmen 6'1, 

 wing 15*4, tail 6 - 2, tarsus 2'8 inch. Sexes alike. The young bird has the 

 plumage grey, not white. 



Hal). South-eastern Siberia, Manchuria ; China, Formosa, and 

 Hainan ; Corea ; Japan. 



In its general habits it is said to be shy and wary, frequenting 

 large marshes, damp localities, and the banks of streams and 

 rivers. Its note is harsh, not unlike that of the Hooded Crow, 

 but deeper and harsher. It nests in bushes and trees, but so 

 far as I can ascertain its eggs are as yet unknown. 



