494 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE 1 BIDING. [JuDC 5, 



skin brilliant crimson. Back of head and neck covered with long 

 loose feathers, dark purple with green reflections. Back, wings, and 

 tail dark greenish-bronze with a large patch of red bronze upon the 

 shoulder. Primaries dark green. Entire underparts very dark 

 greenish -bronze, almost black. Legs and feet bright red. Bill crim- 

 son. Total length 29 inches; wing 16, tail 8, bill along culmen 

 5, tarsus 3. 



The young has all the face covered with dirty-white feathers, 

 changing to slate-grey upon the lower part of the neck. 



9. Geronticus calvus. 



Courly d tete nue du Cap de bonne Esperance, Buff. PI. Enl. 

 no. 867. 



Tantalus calvus, Bodd. Tabl. PI. Enl. d. D'Aub. (1783) p. 52 ; 

 Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790). vol. ii. p. 708. sp. 17. 



Mad- Ibis, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1783) vol. iii. p. 112. sp. II. 



Bald Ibis, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1783) vol. iii. p. 116. sp. 16. 



Tantalus niger, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) p. 650. sp. 14; Lath. 

 Ind. Orn. (1790) vol. ii. p. 707. sp. 13; VieilL Nouv. Diet. Hist. 

 Nat. (1817) vol.xvi. p. 21. 



Ibis calva, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1817) vol. xvi. p. 23 ; 

 id. Ency. Me'th. (1823) torn. iii. p. 1150; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) 

 sp. II ; id. Isis (1829) p. 761 ; Schleg. Mus. P.-Bas (1863) livr. 4, 

 p. 11. 



Ibis gonocephala, Wagl. Isis (1829), p. 761. 



Geronticus calvus, "Wagl. Isis (1832) p. 1232; Gray, Gen. Birds 

 (1849) vol. iii. p. 567. sp. 2 ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1857) vol. iii. 

 p. 1.53 ; Gurney, Ibis (1860) p. 219. sp. 116 ; Lavard, B. S. Afr. 

 (1867) p. 321.sp. 606; Gray, Hand-1. B. (1871) pt. iii. p. 39 ; 

 Gurney, B. Damara L. (1872) p. 297. 



Ilab. South Africa (Layard), Orange River, Damara Land 

 {Andersson). 



This species was named by Boddaert (/. c.) Tantalus calvus. 

 It is true that Forster in his ' Descriptiones Animalium ' gave the 

 name of capensis to the same bird ; but as this does not appear to 

 have been published by the author, and was unrecognized until Lich- 

 tenstein issued his edition in 1844, Forster' s name will of course sink 

 into a synonym. 



According to Mr. Ayres this species feeds entirely on insects, 

 chiefly beetles. They frequent the land from which the grass has 

 been burnt, and are very wary, being constantly on the move all day. 

 Although living inland, during the winter months they approach 

 within ten miles of the coast. Steedman states that this Ibis nests 

 in companies in the clefts of the sides of precipices. In this respect 

 it resembles the G. comatus. Layard says that the Bald Ibis, known 

 to the Dutch colonists as the Wilde Kalkoen (wild Turkey), is not 

 rare on the eastern frontier, but not often found on the western. He 

 understood that it was a very foul feeder, frequenting the vicinity of 

 villages and acting the part of a scavenger. One that Sir George Grey 

 had in captivity walked very rapidly, and was always occupied in 



