98 



ALTEICIAL GRALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



Youny, first year ; Head, neck, and lower jiarts as in the last, but upper parts and under side of 

 the wing uniform, continuous bronzy green, with little, if any, admixture of purple or violet shades. 



No chestnut on the lesser wing-coverts! Bill, pale greenish horn-blue, Ijlackish terminally and 

 dusky basallj' ; iris, " hazel ;" legs and feet, deep black {= F. thalassinus, Ridgwat).i 



Downy young : Bill light yellowish, the base, end, and band around the middle deep black ; 

 lores blackish : legs and feet black. Forehead black, bounded posteriorly by a crescentic patch of 

 dull, silvery white, extending from eye to eye, across the posterior portion of the crown ; the line 

 of demarcation between the white and black being somewhat mixed or suffused with light rufous. 

 Rest of head, neck, and lower parts covered with soft downy feathers of a uniform brownish gray 

 shade, without any whitish streaks on head or neck. Partially complete plumage of the upper 

 surface entirely uniform, continuous bronze-green, or metallic bottle-green, without the slightest 

 admixture anywhere fjf purple, blue, or violet. 



Length, about l!).()0-26.()0 ; expanse, 3().()()-4().n() ; wing, 9.30-10.80 ; tail, 3,50-5.(1(1 ; culmen, 

 3.75-6.00 ; depth of liill, .50-60; tarsus, 3.00-4.40; middle toe, 2.10-2.85 ; bare jiortion of tibia, 

 1.50-2.75 - 



According to Dr. J. 0. Merrill (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Vol. I. p. 163), " The young, wlien first 

 hatched, are clothed in blackish down ; the bill is whitish, with dusky base. When nearly Hedged, 

 the wings and back have a very marked metallic lustre ; the base of bill, with terminal one fourth 

 inch and a two filths inch median band, black ; the intervening portions pinkish white." 



In this wiilely distributed species there is very little variation in colors among specimens of the 

 same age, but the difference in proportions is often very great. A perfectly adult specimen from 

 the vicinity of Santiago, Chili, and one from San Francisco, Cal., are much alike in plumage, 

 except that in the former the crown is darker (being, in fact, decidedly dusky), while the back 

 is of a darker chestnut, with more decided violef-purple reflections. In dimensions, however, they 

 exhibit almost the extremes of measurements, as the iollowing will show : — 



Catal. no. Locality. Wing. Culmen. T;irsus Midrlle Toe. 



79928 San Francisco, Cal. lO.SO 6.00 4.25 2.75 



49042 Santiago, Cliili. 9.50 4.15 3.25 2.20 



Specimens from the same locality, however, sometimes difl'er ([uite as much as those mentioned 

 above ; and we are unalile to appreciate any geogra]ilii(-U dift'erences whatever, examples from Chili, 

 Buenos Ayres, Mexico, and Columbia River being ijuite identical. A specimen from the Sandwich 

 Islands we refer to this species, somewhat doul)tfully, it being in imnuxture plumage. It agrees 

 strictly with American examples of the same age in all respects wherein c/uaraima differs from 

 faldiullus, even to the reddish color of the bill, lores, and feet. Still, it is possible that perfect 

 adults may show differences from both forms. 



This species, known in its mature form as the Bronzed Ibis, ami in its imnutture 

 condition as the Green Ibis, is a common species in Utah, Nevada, and Southwestern 

 Texas, and probably also in New Mexico and Arizona, in localities favorable for its 

 residence and support. 



1 Notes from fresh specimens killed at Oreana, on tlie lliuiiboklt River, Nevada, Sept. 3, 

 ^ E.xtremes uf about forty specimens. 



1867. 



