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126 



IBISES. 



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shores both on tlie seacoast and in the interior. They are generally 

 found in flocks and they nest in colonies. Spoonbills have tiie gen- 

 eral habits of Herons, but feed by immersing tiie bill and swinging it 

 from side to side in their search for food. 



183* Ajaja ajaja {Linn.). Roseate Spoonrii.l; Pink Curlew. 



(Sue Fig. 21.) Ad.— WniiiX ami thruiit bare, neck and upper l)ack wliite, some- 

 tiinea tinged with i)ink; sides of tiie breat^t in front of tlie wings and end lialf 

 of tail ocliraceous-l)utf ; rest of plumage pink ; lengtliened feathers at tiie biuso 

 of the neck darker; lesser wing-coverts, upper and under tail-eoverts car- 

 mine. Im. — Similar, i)Ut head and throat featiiered, ocliraoeous-bulf and car- 

 mine of the adult replaced by pink. L., 3200 ; W., U-oO ; Tur., 4-00 ; B., «'25. 



Range. — Tiopical and subtropical America north to the Gulf States. 



Ned, a platform of sticks in mangrove bushes or small trees. Eggs., three 

 to five, wliite, spotted and speckled witli shades of olive-brown, 2'57 x r73. 



This was formerly a common species in Florida, but continued 

 persecution has so reduced its numbers that during four winters 

 passed in different parts of the State I did not observe it. It nests in 

 January and February in the extreme southern part of the State, and 

 after the nesting season wanders northward. On the Texas coast it is 

 more numerous. 



Family Ibididje. Ibises. 



Ibises are distributed throughout the warmer parts of the globe ; 

 they number about thirty sj-ecies, of which four occur in North Amer- 

 ica. They are silent birds, and live in flocks during the entire year. 

 They feed along the shores of lakes, bays, and salt-water lagoons, and 

 on mud flats over which the tide rises and falls. Their food consists 

 principally of crustaceans, frogs, and small fish. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Plumage deep chestnut 186. Glossy Ibis. 



B. Plumage scarlet 185. Scarlet Ibis (Ad,). 



C. Plumage wliite 184. White Ibis (Ad.). 



D. Back brown, belly white. 



a. Kump white 184. White Ibis (Im.). 



h. Kump like the back 185. Scarlet Ibis (Iin.). 



184. Guara alba (Zmn.). White Ibis ; Spanish Curlew (see Fig. 20). 

 Ad. — White, the tips of tlie four outer primaries black ; bare parts of the head 

 orange-red. Im. — Head and neck white, streaked with grayish brown; upper 

 back and wings grayish brown; rump, breast, and belly wliite. L., 2500; 

 W., 11-00; Tar., 3-40; B. from N., 4-GO. 



Range. — Tropical America; breeds as far north ns southern Indiana, 

 southern Illinois, and South Carolina; winters from the Gulf southward. 



Long Island, A. V. 



