1889. ] Scott, Birds of the Gulf Coast of Florida. 15 
perhaps twenty in all. They were in every case so wild and frightened 
at the s¢g#¢ of a human being that the only way one could identify them 
was by the wonderful blush pink of their feathers in the light. 
Iam firmly convinced that this change is directly attributable to the 
demands of the feather market for the skins of these gorgeous birds, and 
feel sure that it is only the question of a few more seasons of ‘plume 
hunters’ when this species will be almost as mythical in Florida, as the 
traditional Phoenix 
Guara alba. Wuitr IBis.—An abundant resident at most points on the 
Gulf Coast, but apparently preferring the fresh-water regions, especially 
in the breeding season, though I have frequently found them in rookeries, 
associated with various Herons, Cormorants, etc., where the water was 
brackish. 
For many years the southeastern end of Lake Butler, near Tarpon 
Springs, has been a favorite breeding place for these birds, and I found 
vast numbers of them breeding there in April of the present year (1888). 
The nests were similar to those of the smaller Herons, which were also 
breeding abundantly at this point, except that they were lined with leaves 
and were more carefully built. Four eggs were generally the number of 
a full set, though once I found five in the same nest, and three were now 
and then the full number. The eggs were mostly laid, and had been 
incubated from a day or two to a week, when I visited the rookery on 
April 24, 1888. 
These birds I found equally common at Panasoffkee Lake, the points 
visited on the Withlacooche River, and at many points in Charlotte 
Harbor and Tampa Bay. . 
Guara rubra. ScarRLeT IsBis.—Mr. Atkins of Key West writes me 
under date July 21, 1888, ‘‘I enclose the letter referring to the (Scarlet] 
Ibis. Mr. Hart is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a truthful and 
reliable man and I have not the least doubt of what he writes in regard to 
the [Scarlet] Ibis.” 
The following I quote from this letter of Mr. T. E. Hart to Mr. Atkins, 
dated from Fort Ogden, Florida, May 13, 1888. 
“T have done very well collecting plumes this season, but have not 
made a skin this year; have seen some fine Everglade Kites and Spoon- 
bills and Rails, but was a long way from the boat and could not pack 
them; saw one Scarlet Ibis but did not shoot it. I was in a Heron 
rookery and saw it coming and thought it was a young White Ibis as its 
color was hid by the tops of the trees. I kept watching it coming along 
and when it got to an open place it hovered for a moment, and before I 
could shoot it, it dashed off ata right angle and I saw it no more. Joe 
saw one the same day. I could not have been mistaken in the bird. It 
was of the size and shape you wrote and was of a dark blood color. It 
was not more than sixty feet from me and was a pertect beauty.” 
I have perfect confidence in the above records and present them without 
hesitation as being of deep interest. 
Plegadis autumnalis. GLossy Isis.—Apparently rare on the Gulf 
