92 



AI/nUCIAl, (iKAM.AToUMS— IIKKOUK tNKS. 



^ 



m 



i 



siloiit. Tlu'ir tli,i;lit is (Icsciilii'd us liciiiK rapid ami iirotnictotl ; tho iuh'anct' lu'iii^' 

 iiiiitlc Ity altcniatc lla|)|piii!4; and sailiiit;. In tlii'sc iiKivciiiciits tiic Hock iiuituti' tht> 

 leader, each individual lollowin^' witli iiei'fect. re,i,'idai'it_v the motions of tlie one pre- 

 cedinfj; it. It' at. tins time one is shot, the whole line is liroken up. and tor a lew 

 luinutes all is disorder; lint soon the former arrans^'enieiit is resnnn'd, an»l tho tloc'k 

 K<>es on as hel'ore. 



A wounded lliis. it only win.u'ed. runs olT with ^'reat speed; liiil il never attenijits 

 to liite or otherwise to del'ein! itsell'. At other tinu's than the lireediui; season this 

 bird will perl'oiin wonderlul evolutions, in the course of which it soim'tinu's rises to 

 il f,'reat heit,'ht in the air. Alter thus apparently amnsinj;- itsell' lor a while, it will 

 suddenly ^dide down with astoiushinij; speed. It is apiiarently as I'ond as the Wood 

 Ibis of resortini;' to ponds ov hayons that are in the woods; and Mr. .\iulidion has 

 found it lireedini; in such situations nKUc than three hundred miles from the sea. 

 'I'his was the case in the Stale of .Mississippi, not far I'l'om N;itche/, and in the 

 swampy forests iiround l>ayou Sara and I'ointe Conpt'c. \Vhen disturlied in these 

 jilace.s it Hies to tlu' tops of the tallest trees, uttering' a hoarse cry. and is usually 

 very shy and dillicult of appro;udi. When a woundi'd I his I'iills into the wider, it 

 e;ui swim (piite Widl ; lint it is uiuisual for it to do this voluntarily, even to ;ivoid 

 pursuit. Amlnliou witnessed the escape of one liy swimnuny; when cluiscd liy an 

 allifj;at(ir. 'I'he liird h;i<l l';dlen hidken-winLj-ed into the water, ;iutl sou.nht jiroteclion 

 liy hastening to his feet. He kept il alive for souu' linu', feedins,' it with soaked 

 Indian nn-al and an occasional criiylish. which latter it received with evident pleas- 

 ure. On stM/ini,' one, the liii'd liciil it sideways on the j^round \intil its (daws and 

 Icfjs were broken oil', ;il'ter whitdi the body was swallowed whole. 'IMiis bird was 

 very I'ond of lyiufj; on its side in the sun and nursiiiij its sore wint:;. It walked 

 li^'htly and very }j;racel'ully, ;uid liec;ime very .yjentlc ".nd tiime, followinJ,^ like a com- 

 mon fowl, those who fed it. 



Mr. L;iwreiice considers this bird ;is a rare species near New Vork ; Mr. Edward 

 Harris prooured it on the Delaware, near riiiladtdjilda ; and Mr. Turnbidl shot one 

 at Great K.y;^' Harbor, New .ler.sey, in the summer of lsr>.S. It is nire so l';ir north. 

 Dr. Hryant found it very numerous at Indian Wiver, Kloridii. Specimens shot .Vpril 

 20 were .still in the sjirin^' moult. Mr. 'rurnbull saw a larp' Hock of these birds on 

 the St. tlohn's, near Volusia, but none at I'hiterprise. 



The i"fi\:;s are of an oblont(-oval shape, a little lari^cr and more obtuse at one end, 

 and vary (diielly in size, ran.Ljin.u; in len,i;th from L'.L'O to LMT) inches, and in brciulth 

 from l.'in to l.tiO inclics. Their j^ronnd color is a dull clayev white with a ^'reenish 

 tin^'f, over whicdi iire distributi-d spots, blottdics, and lont^itudinal markin,u;s of various 

 shades of ri'ddish brown. In some cases these are few, ami scattered over most of 

 the e^iij;, but increasing in size or conHiuMit towards the larger end. In others, those 

 markings arc distributed in large and nioro or less conHuent i>atehes over nearly the 

 pntir(> surface. In sonu' eggs the greenish tinge of the gro\ind is much nn)re api>;ir- 

 ent than in others, b\it it is always nu)re or less noticeable. 



Gi:ni s FLEGADIS, Kaup. 



"FalcinrUtis, nEcusr." Acer, (iii'f Ukcustkix '). 



Phg(tdi.% K.MT. Skizz. Kiitw. (Icscli. 1S20, 8'J (typ.>, r,inlnhisfnMncUus, Linn.). 



TimlaUdcs, Waiu,. I.sis, 1832, 12!il (typo, rnnluUii, j\,l,-i„eU\i.% I.inn.). 



1 Cr. Sai.v. & Sci,. lliis, ,Iiin. 1878, p. 112. 



