'^■\,P' 



IBTDID.R — TIIK IBISES — PLEGADI8. 



D'J 



Mr. .1. A. Allfii met with it in the valley of (ireat Salt Lake, I'tah, in the month 

 of September, where it was known as the IJlaek Snipe. He was told that it was a 

 rather (,'onimon summer resident, hut this had only been the ease within a few years. 

 J\Iost of these birds had niij,M"ited south before Mr. Allen's arrival, and he found it 

 exceedingly wary, althonf,di his imrty suireedcd in proeuring seven specinuMis. 



]iy Mr. Ridgway it was observed in large numbers at Franklin Lake, in August 

 and Septeud)er; a few had al.so been seen at (Ireat Salt I^uke in May and Jiine. This 

 bird is known to the ])eople of Nevada as the " Hlack Curlew," and also as the 

 " niack Snipe." In its immature! form it was ti'-st observed at the Humboldt Jlarshes 

 in September. It was one of the most abundant water-birds, oecurring in Hocks of 

 liuudreds of individuals. Thev were generally seen about tlu' margin of the pools, 

 standing in a single line along ti." .'dge of tlie water. At Oreana, forty miles fartlier 

 uj) the river, they were seen passing baek and forth over the camj) by the river, some 

 of the Hocks fornu'd with a widely extended front, but nutre frecpuMitly in a V-shaped 

 body. They Hew ijuite low — rarely higher than Hfty yards — and cjuite swiftly. 

 At that distance they seenu'd of a uniform black color, and resembled the Long-billed 

 Cm-lew in size and form. Only om'c was a Hock seen to alight. When approaehed, 

 under cover of the willows, they were found busily engaged in feeding among the 

 a<|uatie ])lants, in a slough entirely hemmed in by a dense growth of willows, each 

 individual, as it waded about, uttering a hoarse, low croaking not(;. Their movements 

 were easy and graceful. 



Mr. {!assin refers to this species (Wilkes's Expediti(Hi, p. 302) as ap2)arently inhab- 

 iting nearly the entire southwestern regions of the continent, from New ^Mexico and 

 California to Patagonia. It is of fre(iuent occurrence throughout Peru and Chili ; 

 and, according to Chilian observers, migrates still farther south. It has been brought 

 in collections from Mew Mexico and Southern California. Mr. I'eale mentions that 

 it was observed in Hocks of Hi'teen or twenty along the banks of fresh-water streams 

 and lakes in Chili, during the month of May. Its Hight was (piite graceful. 



The ih'onzed Ibis was Hrst recognized as a bird of North America by Dr. Wood- 

 house, who procured it on the Rio Zoquette, in Texas, in the expedition to the Zuiii 

 River. 



According to the late Dr. Herlandier, this species is found among the swamps on 

 the eastern coast of Mexico ; and its habits are described by him as very similar to 

 those of the Green Ibis of Europe. He met with it, although quite rarely, about the 

 lakes near Tamiagua, Tuxpan, and Pueblo Yiejo. in the State of Vera Cruz ; also in 

 the vicinity of Tanqjico, Presas, and Soto la Marina, in Tamaulipas, as well as among 

 the swamps produced by the overflow of the Rio Rravo del Norte. 



It is undoubtedly to this sjiecies that Dr. Kennerly refers, in his notes on the birds 

 observed on the Mexican Roundary Survey. He speaks of it as quite common in ' 

 June in the vicinity of Santa Cruz, in the State of Sonora, as going in large flocks, 

 and as feeding in the valley of the river in swampy places. It was very tame, and 

 was easily killed. 



Dr. James C. Jlerrill refers to this species as resident in Southwestern Texas, but 

 as much more common in summer than in winter. On the 16th of ^lay, 1877, in 

 company with Mr. G. B. Sennett, he visited a large patch of tule-reeds growing in a 

 shallow lagoon, about ten miles from Fort Brown, in which a large number of this 

 species and several kinds of Herons were breeding. The reeds covered an area of 

 about seventy-five acres, growing in water three or four feet deep. There were occa- 

 sional irregular spaces free from reeds, but the firm bottom permitted wading without 

 difficulty in any direction. Besides this Ibis, four or five kinds of Herons, as well as 



