IBIDIF).!': - TlfK iniSRS — liUDOCIMUS. 



89 



tilt! larger end, and arcmnd the widest jiortion, these iiiiirkings iire ol' gri'iitcr size und 

 more muuerouH, and form u large erown, wliich covers the whole of the ohtusc! end of 

 the egg. These iiuirkings are diversified in their slmde, and consist of patches of 

 liislre, intenaihed in s[»ots. 



An egg of this species in my own collection (No. 70), from the Amazon, procured 

 liv Mr. W. H. Edwards, is of a slightly oblong oval shape, very nearly eipial at either 

 (11(1, and measures IMI inches in length hy 1.(>(I in hreadth. The ground color is a 

 dull white, with a slight rufous tinge. It is lU'arly covered — profusely .so at the 

 linger end — with irregular blotches of a dull bistre; tiicsc arc nearly conHucnt at 

 tiie extremity, and a few are much (h'cper than the rest. 



EudocimuB albua. 



THE WHITE IBIB. 



Sculiipnx alba, Lixx. S. N. I. oil. Id, l7i>S, U5. 



Tiiiilithisalber, LiXN. 8. N. 1. l/liO, 242. 



ruHl^dusalhiis, r,i\Ki.. S. X. 1. 1788, (151. - Wii.s. Am. Orii. VITI. 1811, 43, ji). 66. 



Iliimilhi, ViKii.i,. Ndiiv. Diet. XVI. 1817, i(i. — Nurr. iMiiii. 11. 1*31, 8i;. — Am. (irn. Bioj,'. Ill, 



ls;3."., 178 ; V. isy.), rm, i>l. i-l-l -, Synop. ISUli, •2r.7 ; U. Am. VI. 184H, .^.1, pi. 3t!0. — Cas.s. in 



Biiinl's n. N. Am. 1858, 084. — lUiUD, Cat. X. Am. IJ. 185!>, iio. tw. - (di-Ks, Clink List, 



1873, no. 440. 

 EHihif.iiiiiis alhii.i, Wa(ii,. Isis, 18:12, 1232. — liiuow. Norn. N. Am. 15. 1881, no. 5(11. — CorK..s, 



Check List, 2il I'd. 1882, no. (151. 

 Tantal us eoco, Jacij. Beitr. 1784, 13. 

 Tiiiila/iis fjrisnts, fiMi'i,. S. N. I. 1788, (153 (young). 

 EuducimuH hiiijirunhu.% \Va(;i.. Lsi.s, 1829, 7(J0. 



Had. Wanu-teiiipcrnte Eiistcrii North Amt'iicn, Wu.-it Indies*, Middle Ainuricn, nnd tropical 

 Suiitli Aiiu'vicii ; north to Coiiiiucticut, Eastern Feiinsylvaniii, Illinois, and Great Salt Lake, Utah ; 

 south to ni'ii/.il. 



Sp. C'hau. Adult : Teriniiial jiortioii (beyond the eniurginatioii) of three to five • outer jiri- 

 iiiai'ies, ^'lo.isy greenish black, with a brij,'lit metallic j,'iveii lustre. i{est of the i>biiiiage entirely 

 |iMic while. Hill, bare skin of the head, leg.s and feet, brij,dit eariiiiiie in the breeiliii},'-seasoii ; at 

 otliii- limes iialer, or orange-red ; iris tine ]iearly blue (Ai'Dunox).'^ Knd of the bill soni('tiiiies 



1 According to Audubon, "Tlieri^ is r. curious, though not altogether geiicml, difTcroncc hctwecii the 

 .sexes of this species as to the iibnnage, — the male has live ot' its piiiii.Tiies ti|i|ied witji glossy hliick for 

 seveiiil inelie.s, while the female, wliieli is very little smaller than the male, has only four marked in this 

 iimiinrr. On examining more than a hundred individuals of eiudi sex, I found only four e-xeeptions, which 

 iieeurreil in fciuales that were very old liirds, and which, as lia|)](eiis in souk- other sjiocics, might iierhaps 

 have lieeii undergoing the curious change exhiliited by Ducks, Pheasants, and some other hirds, the females 

 cif which, wlieii old, sometimes assunu! the livery of tlie males." This supposed sexual dilleri'iieo wc have 

 Iweii unable to verify with the series before lis, though it is very possible that some specimens may not 

 have the sex correctly 'ctermined. 



2 " liaio parts of the liead [in the adult male] light oraiigo-red ; bill the same, but towards the tip 

 dusk}'. Iri.s of a lino pearly blue. Legs and toes paler than the bill ; claws du.sk}', tipped with horn- 

 color. 



" After the fii'st moult, the bill is pah; yellowish orange, toward the base greenish ; the naked parts of 

 the head are i)ale orange-yellow, imdining to llesh-eolor ; the eye dark brown ; the feet pale blue. 



" The change in the coloring of the bill, legs, nnd feet of this bird, that takes jdaoe in the breeding 

 season, is worthy of remark, the bill lieiiig then of a deep orange-red, and the legs and feet of a red nearly 

 amounting to carmine. Tlie males at this season have the gular jioueli of a rich orange color, and some- 

 what resembling in shape that of the Frigate Pelican, although jiroportionally less. During winter these 

 parts ari^ of a dull flesh-color. The irides also lose much of their clear blue, and i-esuino in some degree 

 the undicr color of the young birds. I am thus particular in these matters, because it is doubtful if any 

 one else has ever paid attention to them." 



VOL. I. — 12 



