American Wood Ibis 



has the whole head and upper half of the neck naked, the skin being hard and 

 scurfy, while in the Old World species only the fore part of the head is naked, 

 the hinder half, as well as the entire neck, being densely feathered. In Tan- 

 talus, however, the young birds have the head and neck feathered. In all the 

 species the general color is white, in some tinged with pink or rosy, while the 

 quills and tail are black or brownish. In young birds the mantle is usually 

 darker. 



The American Wood Ibis (T. loculator] is a curious bird in many respects. 

 It is widely distributed over tropical and warm-temperate America, extending 

 north regularly to the Gulf States, lower Mississippi Valley, lower Colorado Valley, 

 etc., and casually or in some instances regularly to New York, Illinois, Utah, and 

 California. It is from thirty-five to forty-five inches in length and white in color, 

 with the quills, 

 secondaries,- and 

 tail glossy greenish 

 black with purple 

 and bronze reflec- 

 tions. In the 

 breeding season 

 the under wing- 

 coverts are rosy 

 pink. The bare 

 portions of the 

 head and neck are 

 livid bluish; the 

 bill yellowish; the 

 legs blue, becom- 

 ing blackish on 

 the toes. 



Its habits' have 

 been variously de- 

 scribed, some re- 

 garding it as a 



solitary bird, while others have found it usually in small parties. Hudson, who 

 saw it in Argentina, says: "On the pampas it is not uncommon in summer and 

 autumn, and goes in flocks of a dozen or twenty. The birds are usually seen 

 standing motionless in groups or scattered about in spiritless attitudes, appar- 

 ently dozing away the time." It frequents both fresh and salt waters, feeding 

 largely upon fishes, which, according to Audubon, it catches by dancing around 

 in the water to render it muddy, then killing all that come to the surface. It 

 also feeds on frogs, crabs, snakes, turtles, young alligators, young birds, etc. 

 The nest, a rude platform of sticks, is placed in trees often of great height. 

 In the shallow depression two or three white eggs are laid, which are about 

 two and one half by two inches. The nesting site is used for many years, the 

 birds refusing to leave even under great persecution. 



FIG. 53. American Wood Ibis, Tantalus loculator. 



